What’s hot in Infectious Diseases 2016 Ferguson Port Moresby General Hospital Grand Rounds  1/3/16.

Antibiotic stewardship key points from this talk:

• Audit how antibiotics are being used in your unit/hospital – if you don’t measure something you can’t change it!
• Eliminate unnecessary use – including post-operative prophylaxis
• Rationalise empirical antibiotic use – use agreed guidelines and ensure these are consistent with local antimicrobial resistance patterns
• Post-empiric management: critically evaluate response of inpatients to antibiotic treatment at 48-72 hours:  Clinical – temperature, control of sepsis, evaluation of source, WCC, CRP, culture results. Decide –  Is there another non-infective cause?  Is antibiotic treatment still indicated?  If ongoing treatment indicated – consider early switch-to-oral
• Limit durations of treatment to what the evidence base supports!