Antimicrobial Stewardship for the Infection Control Practitioner

Abstract

Antibiotic misuse is a serious patient safety concern and a national public health priority. Years of indiscriminant antibiotic use has promoted selection for antibiotic resistant bacteria and Clostridium difficile This crisis has led to clinicians being faced with managing untreatable infections, often in the most vulnerable patient populations. This review summarizes the goals of antimicrobial stewardship programs, the essential members needed to initiate a program, various antimicrobial stewardship strategies, the role of the infection control practitioner in stewardship, barriers to its implementation and maintenance, approaches to measure the impact of a program, and the steps needed to initiate a program.

Keywords: Antibiotic management; Antibiotic resistance infection control; Antimicrobial stewardship; Education; Multidrug resistance.