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Educational Resources

Send the Blob, Not the Swab!

Appropriate culturing in the Operating Room

send the blob, not the swab; appropriate culturing in the Operating Room
Click to view (3 minutes); UNC login required

During surgery, there is a unique opportunity to obtain samples directly from the site of infection. If cultures are not sent, it can negatively affect patient care, as patients may receive wrong treatment or unnecessarily broad empiric antimicrobial therapy, which can lead to side effects, complications such as C.difficile colitis or development of antimicrobial resistance.

Here are some tips about obtaining cultures in the operating room. The video is three minutes in length.

 

“Reasons to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine” Flyer Available to Post in Patient Areas

To support patients and visitors who may be considering COVID vaccination, Carolina Antimicrobial Stewardship Program created a flyer called Reasons to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine (Spanish & English available) to provide more information on the benefits of a COVID vaccine. Consider printing and posting the flyers in patient and visitor areas.

 

Penicillin Allergy Assessment Tool Kit

graphic of a tool kit with words penicillin allergy assessment tool kit

An estimated 10% of the US population reports having an allergic reaction to a penicillin-class antibiotic. However, when evaluated, fewer than 1% are truly allergic. Broad-spectrum antibiotics are a common alternative to penicillins and are associated with more side effects, higher healthcare costs, and antimicrobial resistance.

The tool kit has been created to educate patients and their caregivers and to train healthcare providers on how to proactively assess penicillin allergies. Removing the allergy from medical records of patients who are not truly allergic to penicillins is an important stewardship tool that decreases unnecessary use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Information for Patients & Caregiverspatient fact sheet with link to PDF

Reports

  • The National Quality Forum‘s Antimicrobial Stewardship Playbook (2016) provides real-world ideas for application of the CDC’s Core Elements (see below)
  • Tools and resources for implementing antimicrobial stewardship from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
  • Resources on antimicrobial stewardship and resistance from the Infectious Diseases Society of America

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research are two of several agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services charged with leading national efforts on antimicrobial use and resistance. Their websites provide a wealth of resources and information, including:

Infectious Diseases Fellowships

Learn more about fellowships for physicians and pharmacists through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, in partnership with the UNC Medical Center.

Global & National Campaigns

  • cartoon of people engaged in antimicrobial stewardship, credit WHO

    World Antimicrobial Awareness Week takes place each November. Resources include a customizable poster-maker (scroll to bottom)  and other materials to amplify campaign messages globally.

  • The CDC is the U.S. lead agency for World Antimicrobial Awareness Week and provides a partner tool kit to make participation easier and coordinated across the U.S.

Data

  • Antibiotic Resistance & Patient Safety Portal (formerly the Patient Safety Portal) allows users to explore and visual data on antibiotic resistance and healthcare-associated infections
  • CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) publishes reports from its data on topics such as antimicrobial use and resistance, including antimicrobial-resistance pathogens associated with healthcare-associated infections