Antimicrobial resistance is natural phenomenon that occurs when microorganisms are exposed to antibiotic drugs. Under the selective pressure of antibiotics, susceptible bacteria are killed or inhibited, while bacteria that are naturally (or intrinsically) resistant or that have acquired antibiotic-resistant traits have a greater chance to survive and multiply. Many alarming facts regarding antimicrobial resistance have accumulated, particularly over the last few years some of which includes an increase in global resistance rates in many bacterial species responsible for both community- and healthcare-related infections, emergence and dissemination of new mechanisms of resistance, rapid increase in multi-resistance, propensity to use last line therapy to treat nosocomial and community acquired infections, reuse of old drugs with poor efficacy profile and uncertain pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics characteristics due to lack of alternative drugs, high morbidity and mortality attributable to multi-resistant bacteria in critically ill patients and serious financial consequences of bacterial resistance. Various steps that health care practitioners and facilities can pursue to reduce antibiotic resistance such as adopting an antibiotic stewardship program, improving diagnosis, tracking and prescribing practices, optimizing therapeutic regimens and preventing infection transmission.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.