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Awareness weeks guide

World AMR Awareness Week

World AMR Awareness Week

18 to 24 November 2024

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat.
World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) is a global campaign that is celebrated annually to improve awareness and understanding of AMR and encourage best practices among the public, One Health stakeholders and policymakers, who all play a critical role in reducing the further emergence and spread of AMR. World Health Organisation

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Cochrane Library

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care resources

Online resources

Reports

Articles

Clinical practice

Research

E-books

E-journals

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Articles

Clinical practice

Intravenous amoxicillin-clavulanic acid: prescribing practices in Australian hospitals
Intravenous amoxicillin-clavulanic acid prescribing continues to increase throughout Australian hospitals, with notable reductions in guideline compliance and appropriateness. Since 2019, the increase in these outcomes coincided with updated national prescribing guidelines, evident by prescribers utilising national over local guidelines. These findings reinforce the concept that antimicrobial stewardship initiatives, including auditing, robust national guidelines and education, are crucial to optimise IV amoxicillin-clavulanic acid prescribing. Journal of pharmacy practice and research  4 July 2024

Registered nurses’ antimicrobial stewardship roles: a qualitative descriptive exploratory study
This study provides key insights into the leadership potential of RNs in AMS and offers recommendations for future policy and education strategies to optimise their role in New Zealand’s health care. Journal of primary health care 29 October 2024

A pilot intervention trial to reduce the use of post-procedural antimicrobials after common endourologic surgeries
Implementation of a bundled intervention was associated with reduced post-procedural antimicrobial use at one of three sites, with no increase in complications. These findings demonstrate both the safety and challenge of guideline implementation for optimal perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology 7 November 2024

Australian consensus statement on doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) for the prevention of syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men
For gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) at high risk of syphilis, and perhaps other bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs), clinicians may consider prescribing doxy-PEP for a limited period of time, followed by a review of ongoing need. Unlike human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), doxy-PEP may not be suitable as a population-level intervention and should instead be used more selectively. MJA 13 March 2024

The prevalence of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant infections in respiratory intensive care unit, causative microorganisms and mortality
Early detection and close monitoring of multidrug-resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistant (XDR), and pandrug resistant (PDR)  bacterial strains are vital to combat antimicrobial resistance. This study shows that MDR and XDR infections are a major health problem in ICUs and that these infections have significant negative effects on patient prognosis. Infection and drug resistance 7 November 2024

Clinical setting comparative analysis of uropathogens and antibiotic resistance: A retrospective study spanning the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic
Empirical therapy of UTIs in Australia with trimethoprim requires evaluation due to high rates of resistance observed across clinical settings. Open forum infectious diseases 22 December 2023

Antibiotic stewardship in hospital-acquired pneumonia
The results show that antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) implementation greatly improves clinical outcomes for hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) patients, highlighting the need for ongoing funding in ASPs to address antibiotic resistance. Cureus 13 November 2024

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Research

Antimicrobial surveillance in South Australian prisons: a pilot study
This study aimed to determine the feasibility of capturing antimicrobial usage data from prisons for inclusion in the Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA) surveillance system and to analyse 2021 and 2022 South Australian (SA) usage data for notable trends. Australian health review 30 July 2024

Leveraging existing data to improve antimicrobial resistance-related mortality estimates for Australia
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global pandemic, however, estimating its burden is a complex process. As a result, many countries rely on global estimates to infer burden within their own setting. With a growing number of recent publications quantifying AMR burden in Australia, and an expansion of surveillance programs, enumerating AMR mortality for Australia is feasible. We aimed to leverage existing published data to assess methodological factors contributing to the considerable variation in AMR-related mortality and provide two reliable estimates of AMR mortality in Australia. This is a necessary step towards generating meaningful measures of AMR burden in Australia. Australian health review 15 July 2024

A One Health approach for the genomic surveillance of AMR
The article showcases pioneering initiatives in Australia, such as the Melbourne Genomics Alliance’s Controlling Superbugs Clinical Flagship, the Australian Centre for Genomic Epidemiological Microbiology and AusTrakka, and discusses the need to both build global genomic databases that promote equitable analytics, and secure data-sharing platforms that support comprehensive surveillance networks. Microbiology Australia 28 May 2024

What does the future hold? Improved detection, treatment and management of One Health AMR
his article provides a viewpoint of where AMR research is heading in the future, from the perspective of three Australian initiatives specifically established to combat AMR: the Centre to Impact AMR, the ARC Training Centre for Environmental and Agricultural Solutions to Antimicrobial Resistance, and the Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery. Microbiology Australia 23 May 2024

Antimicrobial-resistant central line-associated bloodstream infections in adult intensive care units: findings from an Australian surveillance network, 2011–2022
The authors aimed to describe the incidence, pathogens, and antimicrobial susceptibility of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in adult intensive care units (ICU). Infection control & hospital epidemiology 7 November 2024

Can risk factors and risk scores help predict colonization and infection in multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria?
This review aims to provide an overview of relevant studies on risk factors for colonization and/or infection with multidrug-resistant (MDR) gram-negative bacteria (MDRGNB), as well as evaluate scoring systems, focusing on those aiming to determine the risk of MDRGNB infection, colonization and/or mortality. Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology 11 November 2024

Exposure to doxycycline increases risk of carrying a broad range of enteric antimicrobial resistance determinants in an elderly cohort
The gut microbiome of aged care residents is a major reservoir of antibiotic resistance. As a critical antibiotic in medical practice, a comprehensive understanding of the impact of doxycycline exposure on the gut resistome is paramount for informed antibiotic use, particularly in an evolving landscape of prophylactic applications. Near-universal asymptomatic carriage of clinically critical resistance determinants is highly concerning and reinforces the urgent need for improved management of antibiotic use in long-term aged care. Journal of infection 12 August 2024

One Health antimicrobial resistance: stewardship in Australia
Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is promoted as a core set of actions that aim to mitigate the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, but to also ensure safety and quality use of antimicrobials. By improving the appropriate use of antimicrobials we can improve patient care, reduce adverse effects and perhaps slow the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. However, changing behaviour of prescribers is challenging, with barriers and facilitators often common across diverse prescribing groups – doctors and veterinarians. Many of the physical challenges facing prescribers are also shared and lessons can be learned about implementation of interventions between groups. In this article we discuss qualitative and quantitative research, and interventions in AMS, in Australia from a One Health perspective. Microbiology Australia 17 May 2024

New antibiotics to combat One Health AMR
The rise of antimicrobial resistance has been accompanied by a decline in the development of new antibiotics. In this article, the authors explore the current state of affairs and trends in both human- and animal-related antibiotic development activity, with distinct differences between the two sectors. Microbiology Australia 23 May 2024

A global investigation into antimicrobial knowledge in medicine, pharmacy, nursing, dentistry and veterinary undergraduate students: A scoping review to inform future planetary health multidisciplinary education
This review has highlighted that there is a need for more antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interprofessional education (IPE) activities in all five disciplines, and especially within the disciplines of nursing, veterinary and dentistry, as shown by a lack of multidisciplinary research in this area. BMC medical education 29 October 2024

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E-books

This is just a sample of the e-books the library subscribes to – you will need your library login

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E-Journals

This is just a sample of the journals the library subscribes to – you will need your library login

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