The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the antimicrobial stewardship workforce in Scottish acute care hospitals-a qualitative study.

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes seek to reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance by minimizing inappropriate antimicrobial use. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was characterized by initial widespread use of antimicrobials in patients with COVID-19, with potential negative effects on AMS efforts.

Objective: To explore the impact of the pandemic on the AMS workforce in Scottish acute care hospitals.

Antimicrobial Stewardship in the Frail Elderly.

Antimicrobial therapy is essential to modern healthcare practice. However, years of injudicious use has contributed to the development of population and individual level harm from antimicrobial resistance. The frail elderly are particularly at risk from infection as well as antimicrobial adverse effects due to multimorbidity, polypharmacy and declining physiological reserve.

Ongoing Efforts to Improve Antimicrobial Utilization in Hospitals among African Countries and Implications for the Future.

There are serious concerns with rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across countries increasing morbidity, mortality and costs. These concerns have resulted in a plethora of initiatives globally and nationally including national action plans (NAPs) to reduce AMR. Africa is no exception, especially with the highest rates of AMR globally.

Validity of Pneumonia Severity Assessment Scores in Africa and South Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Although community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) severity assessment scores are widely used, their validity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is not well defined. We aimed to investigate the validity and performance of the existing scores among adults in LMICs (Africa and South Asia).

Methods: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus and Web of Science were searched to 21 May 2020.

Recent innovations and new applications of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy.

Introduction: Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) is safe and effective for selected patients managed within an organized clinical service. Service configurations however are evolving, patient populations are changing and new evidence is emerging which challenges traditional OPAT practice.

Areas Covered: This review will discuss evolving OPAT service delivery from the traditional model of infusion center toward nonspecialist, community and remotely delivered OPAT and the challenges this represents.

Mechanisms affecting the implementation of a national antimicrobial stewardship programme; multi-professional perspectives explained using normalisation process theory.

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) describes activities concerned with safe-guarding antibiotics for the future, reducing drivers for the major global public health threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), whereby antibiotics are less effective in preventing and treating infections. Appropriate antibiotic prescribing is central to AMS. Whilst previous studies have explored the effectiveness of specific AMS interventions, largely from uni-professional perspectives, our literature search could not find any existing evidence evaluating the processes of implementing an integrated national AMS programme from multi-professional perspectives.

Optimizing carbapenem use through a national quality improvement programme.

Background: Concern about increasing carbapenem and piperacillin/tazobactam use led the Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group (SAPG) to develop national guidance on optimal use of these agents, and to implement a quality improvement programme to assess the impact of guidance on practice.

Objectives: To evaluate how SAPG guidance had been implemented by health boards, assess how this translated into clinical practice, and investigate clinicians' views and behaviours about prescribing carbapenems and alternative agents.

Methods: Local implementation of SAPG guidance was assessed using an online survey.

Antimicrobial stewardship in wound care: a Position Paper from the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and European Wound Management Association.

Background: With the growing global problem of antibiotic resistance it is crucial that clinicians use antibiotics wisely, which largely means following the principles of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). Treatment of various types of wounds is one of the more common reasons for prescribing antibiotics.

Objectives: This guidance document is aimed at providing clinicians an understanding of: the basic principles of why AMS is important in caring for patients with infected wounds; who should be involved in AMS; and how to conduct AMS for patients with infected wounds.