Antimicrobial Use Appropriateness

Angie SzumlinskiHealth, Studies

Optimizing antimicrobial use is critical to slowing the spread of resistant pathogens. In 2014, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called for acute care hospitals to implement antimicrobial stewardship programs with the goal of improving antimicrobial use to optimize infection cur rates and minimize harms. Efforts to evaluate antimicrobial stewardship programs’ effect on hospital antimicrobial use typically …

Antimicrobial Stewardship During Pandemic

Angie SzumlinskiHealth, Studies

In the spring of 2020, New York City quickly became a hotspot for the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, putting a strain on local healthcare systems. Antimicrobial stewardship programs faced diagnostic and therapeutic uncertainties as well as healthcare resource challenges. With the lack of effective antivirals, antibiotic use in critically ill patients was difficult to avoid. Uncertainty drove antimicrobial …