Knowra Antibiotic stewardship Antibiotic stewardship Antibiotic stewardship is the coordinated use of antibiotics to ensure appropriate treatment, improve patient outcomes, and limit harms such as antimicrobial resistance.
Antibiotic prescription : A clinical decision to start, continue, change, or stop an antibiotic for a patient. Stewardship focuses on making each prescribing decision evidence-based and appropriate.
Hospital antibiotic stewardship program : A hospital initiative that coordinates interventions to improve antibiotic prescribing and monitor use. Hospitals use teams, prescribing rules, and feedback to apply stewardship at scale.
Antibiotics : Medicines that kill bacteria or inhibit their growth. Stewardship governs when and how this class of medicines should be used.
Clostridioides difficile infection : An infection that can cause severe diarrhea and colitis, often after disruption of gut bacteria by antibiotics. Antibiotic exposure is a key modifiable risk, so safer use can prevent cases.
Infectious disease physician : A physician specializing in diagnosing and treating infections, including complex or resistant infections. Specialists often advise on difficult antibiotic choices and stewardship policy.
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing : Laboratory tests that determine whether microorganisms are inhibited by particular antimicrobial drugs. Results can narrow treatment to antibiotics likely to work against the identified pathogen.
Outpatient antibiotic stewardship : Efforts to improve antibiotic prescribing in clinics and other non-hospital settings. It addresses common prescribing decisions for respiratory and other outpatient infections.
Antimicrobial resistance : The ability of microorganisms to survive or grow despite exposure to drugs designed to inhibit or kill them. Avoiding unnecessary antibiotic exposure helps slow the selection and spread of resistance.
Antibiotic resistance in bacteria : Heritable bacterial traits that reduce susceptibility to one or more antibiotics. Prescribing practices influence selection pressure that favors resistant bacteria.
Clinical pharmacist : A pharmacist who applies medication expertise to patient care and treatment decisions. Pharmacists can review antibiotic selection, dosing, interactions, and duration.
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