Tag Archives: antimicrobial resistance
2017 Cumulative Antibiograms are released – HNE, MNC and Northern NSW
Cumulative antibiograms provide a summary of current bacterial antimicrobial susceptibility for key pathogens in urine and non-urine specimens. Treatment recommendations based on Therapeutic Guidelines, Antibiotic, Edition 15, 2014 are included in the commentaries. These are prepared by Pathology North, Microbiology for Hunter, New England, Northern NSW and Lower Mid-north coast regions. The detailed antibiogram reports are […]
Revisiting #SaveTheScript 2015 – short film meets AMS
In 2015 NPS MedicineWise partnered with Tropfest, to launch a short film competition to raise awareness about antibiotic resistance. Here are our picks of the 15 finalists– definitely worth a revisit! First prize – “The Pick Up” of the not-so lovely Ms Gonorrhoea! “Antibiotic man” “Pills“ The #savethescript judging panel included: Dr Andrew Rochford, Seven Network Health Editor […]
AURA 2016 – Australian antimicrobial use & resistance- key findings
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) recently released AURA 2016 – Australian report on antimicrobial use and resistance in human health. This detailed report analyses diverse existing national sources of data and underpins Australia’s recently released ‘One-Health‘-style National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2015-2019 and will serve as an important baseline for future AMR […]
Be Medicinewise Week – Take Charge!
This year during Be Medicinewise week the National Prescribing Service (NPS) is encouraging clinicians to promote Australians taking charge of their health by being medicinewise, and raising awareness on the importance of having conversations about medicines. Be Medicinewise week (last week!) suggested clinicians ask patients to keep in mind 3 key pieces of advice to take control […]
Sparing meropenem 101: what alternatives exist for the treatment of ESBL-producers?
Guest post: Patrick Harris, Staff Specialist in Microbiology, Central Laboratory, Pathology Queensland, Brisbane In a previous post we looked at bacteria that produce AmpC-type beta-lactamases, such as Enterobacter spp. Perhaps a more familiar, and increasingly common, problem is presented by species such as E. coli or K. pneumoniae, which have acquired extended-spectrum beta-lactamase enzymes (or ‘ESBLs’). […]
Antibiotic Resistance: Facts and Figures
While we spend a lot of time talking about reducing antibiotic resistance it can difficult to get a feel for the size of the problem. The team at BioMerieux have put together some facts and figures that help quantify the problem.
Some antimicrobial stewardship success stories
The NPSMedicinewise 2014-2015 Annual Report was released this week listing the achievements the organisation has made in improving the health of Australians. NPSMedicinewise is active in the fight against antimicrobial resistance and have successfully improved the use of antimicrobials in Australia over this time period.
Are faecal transplants the answer?
Faecal transplants are recommended for all sorts of ailments these days. Indications recommended (not always by doctors!) include weight loss, inflammatory bowel disease and autism. The best evidence for faecal transplants, however, is in the treatment of C. difficile disease.
Introduction to Antimicrobial Prescribing- online NPS MedicineWise course
NPS Medicinewise have put together an introduction to appropriate antimicrobial prescribing module for GPs, nurses and students. The activity is free and involves an interactive case study.
How did bacteria become resistant?
We all know that antibiotic resistance increases through improper use of antibiotics. With recent discoveries of bacteria containing antibiotic resistance genes in isolated tribes it would seem that bacteria have always been resistant- so why is it such a problem now?
AIMED - Let's talk about antibiotics 