Category: Antimicrobial Stewardship
Nebraska Medicine is Proud to #BeAntibioticsAware
Our Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) at Nebraska Medicine has been in place since 2004. Over the years our program has changed and improved sought to expand and improve its approach with the goal of providing extraordinary care to our patients. Rather than an overly restrictive practice, our program has we have emphasized constant regular communication […]
Nov 14, 2018
Governor Ricketts Proclaims Antibiotic Awareness Week in Nebraska
Last year, Nebraska’s Governor Pete Ricketts signed a proclamation declaring Antibiotic Awareness Week in Nebraska, and he again signed a proclamation this year, declaring November 12-18 Antibiotic Awareness Week in our state. Once again, Dr. Maureen Tierney, leader of Nebraska’s Healthcare Associated Infections Program, championed the drafting of the proclamation and received support from the Governor for […]
Nov 12, 2018
An Empiric Nudge in the Right Direction
The following review was originally posted by Dr. Marcelin to the September 2018 SHEA Journal Club and featured on Medscape’s SHEA Expert Commentary earlier this month. Use of empiric antimicrobial treatment in acute care settings is often the result of the “diagnosis momentum” heuristic, wherein the antibiotics started in one location for “sepsis” are continued for several […]
Oct 9, 2018
The following was originally posted to the Controversies in Hospital Infection Prevention Blog on 9/24/18 by Dr. Marcelin. September 28, 2018 marks 90 years since Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin as an effective antimicrobial which would soon save millions of lives. He warned soon afterwards that unless we used penicillin judiciously, we would see antibiotic […]
Sep 28, 2018
The Department of Pharmaceutical and Nutrition Care at Nebraska Medicine and the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) are recruiting for a full-time clinical pharmacist to expand the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and develop an Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) program in collaboration with a new Orthopedic Infectious Diseases service […]
Aug 27, 2018
Ceftazidime-avibactam is approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of complicated intra-abdominal and urinary tract infections, and has activity against carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). Data regarding its real-world application and potential pitfalls is still emerging, and this review illustrates some experiences with use and emerging resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam. The authors of the first […]
Aug 15, 2018
ID Journal Club – BLASTing Inappropriate Allergies out of the EMR with Antimicrobial Stewardship
BLASTing Inappropriate Allergies out of the EMR with Antimicrobial Stewardship The following is a review by one of our fellows Dr. Rajendra Karnatak from our last Journal Club, who discussed the article by Leis et al: Point-of-Care β-Lactam Allergy Skin Testing by Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs: A Pragmatic Multicenter Prospective Evaluation, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 65, Issue […]
Jul 19, 2018
What happened at the first Nebraska Antimicrobial Stewardship Summit?
After almost a year of planning, the First Annual Nebraska Antimicrobial Stewardship Summit convened on Friday, June 1st, 2018 in La Vista, NE. This conference is the first of its kind in Nebraska in which information on antimicrobial stewardship in various healthcare settings is the focus of the meeting. The conference center was abuzz with […]
Jun 14, 2018
Nebraska Antimicrobial Stewardship Summit: A Step Forward in Fighting Antibiotic Resistance
The CDC estimates 30% of all antibiotics prescribed in outpatient setting in the US are unnecessary. Similarly 30% of antibiotics used in hospitals are estimated to be unnecessary or incorrectly prescribed. Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in long-term care facilities have been found to be even higher in some studies (up to 75%). Improving antibiotic use is […]
May 7, 2018
Losing Ground Against Gonorrhea – The Rising Antibiotic Resistance
April is Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Awareness month and there is a critical need to raise awareness toward preventing these infections in all our patients. In the past, most STIs were easily treated with readily available antibiotics, but unfortunately, the story of Gonorrhea has taken a turn down a frightening road. Gonorrhea is the 2nd […]
Apr 19, 2018
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