Antimicrobial use in European long-term care facilities: results from the third point prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use, 2016 to 2017.

Antimicrobial use in European long-term care facilities: results from the third point prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use, 2016 to 2017. Euro Surveill. 2018 Nov;23(46): Authors: Ricchizzi E, Latour K, Kärki T, Buttazzi R, Jans B, Moro ML, Nakitanda OA, Plachouras D, Monnet DL, Suetens C, Kinross P, The Halt Study Group Abstract Antimicrobials are commonly prescribed and contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). In 2010, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control initiated point prevalence surveys (PPS) of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use in European LTCFs, performed by external contractors as the Healthcare-Associated infections in Long-Term care facilities (HALT) projects. Here, we investigated prevalence and characteristics of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial stewardship indicators in European LTCFs in 2016-17. Twenty-four European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia participated in the third PPS in European LTCFs. Overall, 4.9% (95% confidence interval: 4.8-5.1) of LTCF residents in the EU/EEA participating countries received at least one antimicrobial. The most commonly reported Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) groups were beta-lactam antibacterials/penicillins (J01C), other antibacterials (J01X) (e.g. glycopeptide antibacterials,...
Source: Euro Surveill - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Euro Surveill Source Type: research