Antibiotic Awareness Week Proclamation Signing Ceremony CDC has designated November 18 to 24 as US Antibiotic Awareness Week. Antibiotic Awareness Week is an annual observance in the United States and around the world to promote the importance of using antibiotic appropriately as a mean to minimize unwanted effects from antibiotic therapy (e.g., adverse reactions, Clostridioides difficile infections) and antibiotic resistance. In recognition of this annual… Continue Reading
The Nebraska Medicine Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) invites you to participate in a research survey entitled: Use of Oral Antibiotic Therapy (OAT) for Definitive Treatment of Uncomplicated Bloodstream Infections (uBSIs): Opportunities for Antimicrobial Stewardship. There are several studies describing successful use of oral antibiotics to treat bloodstream infections, but are clinicians actually using oral antibiotics for bacteremia? The purpose of this study is to evaluate… Continue Reading
The Division of Infectious Diseases is pleased to announce the arrival of our newest Faculty members! Nada Fadul, MD Dr. Fadul will be supporting UNMC’s efforts on various Ryan White awards through the Specialty Care Center, where she will also serve as the Associate Medical Director. In addition, Dr. Fadul will support the General ID and Ortho ID consult services and participate in the clinical,… Continue Reading
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 additional days after transfer to a second location. Vancomycin remains… Continue Reading
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 line. This is a unique position that allows a candidate… Continue Reading
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 essential in the fight against antibiotic resistance. In the US,… Continue Reading
At Nebraska Medicine, our Antimicrobial Stewardship Program’s (ASP) clinical mission is to optimize the utilization of antimicrobial agents, thereby improving patient outcomes (by reducing the risk of adverse events and Clostridium difficile infection) and limiting the spread of antimicrobial resistance. These Antimicrobial Stewardship activities have been mandated by the Joint Commission and our program has been expanding its reach to include our satellite hospitals and… Continue Reading
In this article review we learn about the impact of a large-scale, multi-institutional Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention on significantly reducing the overall use of ertapenem without subsequent downstream effect on carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) non-susceptibility patterns. Delgado A, Gawrys GW, Duhon BM, Lee GC (2017). Impact of an Antimicrobial Stewardship Initiative on Ertapenem Use and Carbapenem Susceptibilities at Four Community Hospitals. J Infect Dis Ther 5: 341…. Continue Reading
Antibiotic use is common in long-term care facilities (LTCF) with 70% residents receiving at least one course of systemic antibiotic every year. A significant proportion of the antibiotic use (40% to 75%) in nursing homes has been found to be unnecessary or inappropriate. Antibiotic exposure drives selection for multi-drug resistant organisms and C difficile infection. Antibiotic stewardship promotes appropriate antibiotic use and is important in… Continue Reading
At Nebraska Medicine, we have been supporting Antimicrobial Stewardship activities for over a decade, and we are proud to Be Antibiotics Aware. The CDC has recognized our efforts by including the Nebraska Medicine Stewardship Program as an example for other institutions to model. We have recently partnered with the state of Nebraska to promote these activities at the state level through the Nebraska Antimicrobial Stewardship Assessment and… Continue Reading
