Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1075308
24 ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE & STEWARDSHIP Investing $2 per person in antibiotic stewardship annually could thwart superbugs By Mackenzie Bean T he world could prevent 75 percent of deaths linked to antibiotic resistance by spending just $2 per person annually on antibiotic stewardship measures, accord- ing to a report from the Organisation for Economic Coopera- tion and Development. The OECD identified antibiotic resistance as "one of the big- gest threats to modern medicine," adding that superbugs could kill 2.4 million people in Europe, North America and Australia over the next three decades. The report also found health complications linked to antibiotic resistance could cost $3.5 billion a year across 33 countries. "A short-term investment to stem the superbug tide would save lives and money in the long run," OECD said in the report. OECD proposed a five-pronged approach to addressing antibiotic resistance that outlines the following initiatives: • Promoting better hygiene • Ending the over-prescription of antibiotics • Quickly testing patients to ensure they receive the right antibiotic for infections • Delaying antibiotic prescriptions • Initiating mass media campaigns n This insect could help the fight against antibiotic resistance By Mackenzie Bean R esearchers discovered a previously unknown mechanism by which an insect-derived antibiotic kills Gram-negative bacteria, which could aid in the creation of new antibiotics, according to a study published in Science Advances. Thanatin is a natural antibiotic produced by an insect called the spined soldier bug. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Zurich found thanatin prevents Gram-negative bacteria from forming an outer membrane, which serves as a protective shield for the cells. Bacteria cannot survive without this outer membrane. "This is an unprecedented mechanism of action for an antibiotic and immediately suggests ways to develop new molecules as antibiotics targeting dangerous pathogens," study author John A. Robinson, PhD, a re- searcher in the department of chemistry at UZH, said in a press release. "This finding shows us a way to devel- op substances that specifically inhibit protein-protein interactions in bacterial cells." A Swiss drugmaker called Polyphor is already using this new mechanism to develop potential antibiotic candidates. "Another new antibiotic targeting other Gram-negative pathogens would be a very welcome addition to the new medicines urgently needed for effective antibacte- rial therapy," Dr. Robinson said. n ED crowding linked to delayed antibiotics for sepsis, study finds By Mackenzie Bean O vercrowding in the emergency de- partment could be a barrier to the early administration of antibiotics for sepsis, according to a study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine. For the study, researchers analyzed data on 3,572 sepsis patients who visited EDs at two community hospitals, a regional referral hos- pital and a tertiary teaching hospital. Researchers defined ED occupancy rate as the ratio of registered patients to licensed beds. ey considered ED overcrowding as an occupancy rate of greater than or equal to 1. Of the 3,572 patients, 70 percent arrived when the ED occupancy rate was greater than or equal to 0.5, and 14 percent of patients came to an overcrowded ED. The median door-to-antibiotic time was 158 minutes. During overcrowding, 46 percent of patients received antibiotics within three hours of arriving at the ED, com- pared to 63 percent of patients when there was no overcrowding. A 10 percent increase in ED occupancy rate was associated with a four-minute increase in door-to-antibiotic time and a decrease in the odds of a sepsis patient starting antibiot- ics within three hours, the researchers found. "ED crowding was associated with increased sepsis antibiotic delay," the researchers concluded. "Hospitals must devise strategies to optimize sepsis antibiotic administration during periods of ED crowding." n