Upsala journal of medical sciences
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The increasing antibiotic resistance is a global threat to health care as we know it. Yet there is no model of distribution ready for a new antibiotic that balances access against excessive or inappropriate use in rural settings in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where the burden of communicable diseases is high and access to quality health care is low. Departing from a hypothetical scenario of rising antibiotic resistance among pneumococci, 11 stakeholders in the health systems of various LMICs were interviewed one-on-one to give their view on how a new effective antibiotic should be distributed to balance access against the risk of inappropriate use. ⋯ The analysis resulted in four main themes: Barriers to rational access to antibiotics; balancing access and excess; learning from other communicable diseases; and a system-wide intervention. The tension between access to antibiotics and rational use stems from shortcomings found in the health systems of LMICs. Constructing a sustainable yet accessible model of antibiotic distribution for LMICs is a task of health system-wide proportions, which is why we strongly suggest using systems thinking in future research on this issue.
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The increase in antibiotic resistance and the dearth of novel antibiotics have become a growing concern among policy-makers. A combination of financial, scientific, and regulatory challenges poses barriers to antibiotic innovation. However, each of these three challenges provides an opportunity to develop pathways for new business models to bring novel antibiotics to market. ⋯ Instead regulatory agencies could encourage development of companion diagnostics, test antibiotic combinations in parallel, and pool and make transparent clinical trial data to lower R&D costs. A tax on non-human use of antibiotics might also create a disincentive for non-therapeutic use of these drugs. Finally, the new business model for antibiotic innovation should apply the 3Rs strategy for encouraging collaborative approaches to R&D in innovating novel antibiotics: sharing resources, risks, and rewards.
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The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, causing intractable infections, has resulted in an increased interest in phage therapy. Phage therapy preceded antibiotic treatment against bacterial infections and involves the use of bacteriophages, bacterial viruses, to fight bacteria. Virulent phages are abundant and have proven to be very effective in vitro, where they in most cases lyse any bacteria within the hour. ⋯ Phages are effective only if enough of them can reach the bacteria and increase in number in situ. Taken together, this entails high demands on resources for the construction of phage libraries and the testing of individual phages. The effectiveness and host range must be characterized, and immunological risks must be assessed for every single phage.
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Molecules with antibiotic properties, produced by various microbes, have been around long before mankind recognized their usefulness in preventing and treating bacterial infections. Bacteria have therefore been exposed to selection pressures from antibiotics for very long times, however, generally only on a micro-scale within the immediate vicinity of the antibiotic-producing organisms. In the twentieth century we began mass-producing antibiotics, mainly synthetic derivatives of naturally produced antibiotic molecules, but also a few entirely synthetic compounds. ⋯ However, other environments, outside of our bodies, may also be exposed to antibiotics through different routes, most often unintentionally. There are concerns that increased selection pressures from antibiotics in the environment can contribute to the recruitment of resistance factors from the environmental resistome to human pathogens. This paper attempts to 1) provide a brief overview of environmental exposure routes of antibiotics, 2) provide some thoughts about our current knowledge of the associated risks for humans as well as ecosystems, and 3) indicate management options to reduce risks.
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Combination antibiotic therapy for Gram-negative sepsis is controversial. The present review provides a brief summary of the existing knowledge on combination therapy for severe infections with multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas spp., Acinetobacter spp., and Enterobacteriaceae. Empirical combination antibiotic therapy is recommended for severe sepsis and septic shock to reduce mortality related to inappropriate antibiotic treatment. ⋯ In vitro data suggest that combinations can be effective even if the bacteria are resistant to the individual antibiotics, although existing evidence is insufficient to support the choice of combinations and explain the synergistic effects observed. In vitro models can be used to screen for effective combinations that can later be validated in animal or clinical studies. Further, in the absence of clinical evidence, in vitro data might be useful in supporting therapeutic decisions for severe infections with multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.