Infection control and hospital epidemiology : the official journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jun 2019
Implementation of antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention and control practices in long-term care facilities-Pennsylvania, 2017.
In 2017, we surveyed long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania regarding antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention and control (IPC) practices. Among 244 responding facilities, 93% had IPC programs and 47% had antimicrobial stewardship programs. There was significant variation in practices across facilities, and a number of program implementation challenges were identified.
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Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jun 2019
ReviewAntibiotic stewardship in the intensive care unit: Challenges and opportunities.
Infections due to antibiotic-resistant organisms are increasing in prevalence and represent a major public health threat. Antibiotic overuse is a major driver of this epidemic, and antibiotic stewardship an important means of limiting antibiotic resistance. ⋯ In this review, we present unique considerations for stewardship interventions the ICU setting and summarize available data evaluating the impact of prospective audit and feedback, diagnostic test stewardship, rapid molecular diagnostic tests, and procalcitonin-guided algorithms for antibiotic discontinuation. The existing knowledge gaps ripe for future research are emphasized.