A study on dairy slurry found that farm activities, such as disposing of spent copper and zinc footbath, contribute to temporary fluctuations in cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli. The model revealed that resistance is more frequently observed with chromosomally encoded determinants, rather than plasmids. Lower resistance levels were predicted in conditions with lower growth and higher death rates. The study suggests farm-specific solutions to reduce antimicrobial resistance, including careful disposal or recycling of waste antimicrobial metals. Het bericht Modelling the impact of wastew ..read more

Antibiotics save lives, but it is increasingly common for bacteria to become resistant to them. Maarten van Dongen is a molecular and medical microbiologist and founder of AMR Insights, an organization that increases awareness about antimicrobial resistance. He discusses the urgency of this problem and explains how we can combat resistance. Imagine you’re having a urinary tract infection on your doctor’s appointment. The chances are that you will be prescribed a course of antibiotics and after a few days you’ll be completely old again. The use of antibiotics is a matter of course worldwide. Va ..read more

Tuberculosis is a global health concern, with MDR-TB and XDR-TB emerging. Traditional methods are time-consuming and inaccurate, leading to treatment delays. Artificial intelligence (AI) has shown promise in diagnosing drug-resistant strains. This review explores AI applications for MDR-TB and XDR-TB diagnosis, including machine learning, deep learning, and ensemble techniques. Challenges include data availability, algorithm interpretability, and regulatory considerations. Future directions include AI integration into clinical practice. Het bericht Advancements in Artificial Intelligence for t ..read more

The study examined the impact of the Intelligent Antimicrobial System (iAMS) on patients with bacteraemia caused by methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The iAMS group showed a 5.2% increase in 1-year survival rates, while MRSA patients experienced a 17.6% and 7.0% increase in survival rates. The iAMS intervention also improved long-term survival rates, discharge rates, hospitalization days, and medical cost, while reducing near miss medication incidents. The study concluded that iAMS improved patient outcomes. Het bericht Impact of the implementation ..read more

This study evaluated the short-term effects of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASP) on antibiotic usage, clinical outcomes, and MDR organisms’ pattern in the post-COVID-19 era. The study involved 301 adult patients treated with oral or intravenous antibiotics from May 1, 2021, to April 30, 2022. Results showed a 25.2% drop in antibiotic usage post-ASP, longer hospital stays, and increased MDR pathogens. However, after separating post-ASP into two three-month periods, MDROs numbers slightly decreased. Further research is needed to assess ASP’s long-term impact on MDR infections rates and sp ..read more

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant threat to human health, animal health, agriculture, food production, and environmental ecosystem services. The global action plan on AMR (GAP-AMR) was adopted in 2015, with an initial report produced in 2019. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO), and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) took significant steps to implement the GAP-AMR and developed innovations to support countries in implementing their ..read more

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant global health threat, with estimates suggesting that without reversing this trend, AMR could lead to 10 million deaths a year by 2050. To combat this, a continuous pipeline of innovative antibiotics is needed to treat patients with infections resistant to existing antibiotics. A new report by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) reveals that the current antibiotic pipeline is insufficient to protect against increasing resistance. There have been only 10 new antibiotics or combinations approved by ..read more

Research on gender and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is limited, and a gender and equity lens is needed to promote gender equality and support the effectiveness of real-world AMR solutions. This paper reports on a systematic scoping review of peer-reviewed and grey literature published between 2017 and 2022, focusing on three themes: gendered division of caregiving roles and responsibilities, gender power relations in decision-making, and interactions between gender norms and health-seeking behaviors. The review suggests that research that fails to account for gender and its intersections wit ..read more

The study aimed to assess the burden of antibiotic use among end-of-life (EOL) patients in South Korea and compare trends between cancer and non-cancer decedents. Data from the Korean National Health Insurance Database was used to calculate annual antibiotic consumption rates and prescription rates. Results showed that overall antibiotic consumption rates decreased slightly among decedents in their final month, with a less pronounced annual decrease among cancer decedents. However, utilization and prescription of broad-spectrum antibiotics steadily increased, and prescription rates were higher ..read more

A study aimed to validate a customized GPT-agent to identify potential resistance mechanisms in Gram-negative bacteria. The researchers used 225 Gram-negative isolates and formed four categories based on phenotypic resistances against beta-lactam antibiotics. They customized a GPT-agent with EUCAST-guidelines, expert rules, and EUCAST-breakpoint table. The results showed that human experts showed higher concordance and shorter argumentations compared to GPT-agents. However, GPT-agents showed more unspecific flagging of ESBL and AmpC, potentially resulting in additional testing, diagnostic dela ..read more