May 18, 2024
The Carolina Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (CASP) honored three collaborators with Super Steward Awards. The award recipients were Jenny Boyd, MD; Joseph Stromberg, MD; and David J. Weber, MD, MPH. CASP created the awards in 2022 to recognize colleagues’ efforts to champion stewardship in their settings. “CASP’s success hinges on collaboration with colleagues passionate about stewardship. …
April 29, 2024
“Since 2017, patients completing therapy have increased 68% while readmissions during OPAT have decreased from 25% to 11% in 2023,” Michael Swartwood, MSN, RN, CAPM, OPAT’s data manager, reported.
March 21, 2024
Is your practice interested in improving appropriate use of antibiotics in telemedicine? The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is currently recruiting practices for a no-cost, 18-month program beginning in June 2024 to promote appropriate antibiotic use while maintaining patient satisfaction and reducing potential side effects in patients seen via telemedicine. Practices will receive …
March 13, 2024
Take 3 minutes to nominate yourself or a colleague. “CASP created these awards to recognize colleagues’ efforts to support the appropriate and effective use of antimicrobials,” said Nikolaos Mavrogiorgos, MD, CASP medical director. “Each of us can make meaningful changes that improve improve patient care and fight antimicrobial resistance. We value those contributions and want …
February 26, 2024
Not only will antibiotics do nothing for a virus, but taking them unnecessarily could cause harm to you and your community. And it’s happening a lot.
January 12, 2024
In a new study, UNC School of Medicine’s Brian Conlon, PhD, Duke’s Josh Parsons, MD, PhD, and colleagues provide the best evidence to date for the significance of bacterial persister cells in the failure of antibiotics in the clinic.
January 2, 2024
Antimicrobial resistance is on the rise worldwide, notably among gram-negative bacteria, known for their propensity to resist multiple antibiotic agents which threatens the likelihood of treatment success. As rising resistance rates limit antimicrobial options, dose optimization is key to clinical success. For β-lactam antibiotics, the best predictor of bacterial killing is the proportion of the …
December 6, 2023
“Many providers have a misperception about what is considered to be a drug allergy,” said Mildren Kwan, UNC School of Medicine professor and CASP Super Steward. Doctors at the UNC School of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s collaborate to develop an innovative, patient-initiated online platform designed to remove the penicillin allergy label from misdiagnosed pediatric patients.
November 20, 2023
In the United States, respiratory infections are prevalent throughout the year and contribute significantly to the burden of disease on the healthcare system. These illnesses typically increase in frequency during the fall and winter months with peak activity from December to March. This increase can be attributed to colder temperatures forcing people to stay indoors …
November 18, 2023
Treating asymptomatic bacteriuria can have negative effects for patients. In cases of asymptomatic bacteriuria, patients’ urine may be colonized with bacteria, but they do not have signs or symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI). Evidence shows that treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria does not benefit patients but does increase healthcare costs, hospital lengths of stay, and …
November 14, 2023
CASP's Melissa Miller joined an expert discussion on the impact of diagnostic testing and the future of public health. Diagnostic tests are important in mitigating infectious diseases but also in reducing antibiotic overuse. Early in the pandemic, providers were without empirical data on the presence of COVID-19, a detriment that contributed to the unnecessary use of antibiotics, exacerbating antimicrobial resistance.
November 3, 2023
Cross-posted from CDC’s Safe Healthcare Blog by Cosby Stone, Jr. MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonology, and Critical Care Medicine within the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center