While antimicrobial therapy is lifesaving, just like everything else in life, it should be used in moderation. The breadth and scope of antimicrobial stewardship has emerged as an integral part of infectious diseases care. A majority of data is derived from inpatient settings, where stewardship programmes continue to focus on reducing the development of antimicrobial resistance, healthcare-associated infections and healthcare-associated costs due to inappropriate use of antimicrobials. Yet, limited data is available on programmes outside of the traditional inpatient setting.

Almost one-third of prescribed antibiotics remain unnecessary and not needed in the outpatient setting. Thanks to advances in rapid diagnostics, lead times can be reduced for organism identification and susceptibility reporting. Stewardship initiatives can easily be adopted in outpatient settings with the right training, support and staff. Regardless of clinical service or practice settings, antimicrobial stewardship is essential in combatting resistance and preserving future treatment options. And, yes, antimicrobials may be prescribed where necessary but this should be done in moderation.

How to design and implement an outpatient antimicrobial stewardship programme

Emily N Drwiega, Nicole Griffith, Fischer Herald, Melissa E Badowski

Article Type

Review

Published

This manuscript offers detailed guidance on how to design and implement an outpatient antimicrobial stewardship programme and reviews the literature on current strategies. Challenges related to initiating and maintaining outpatient stewardship efforts are also discussed

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Leveraging diagnostic stewardship within antimicrobial stewardship programmes

Kimberly C Claeys, Melissa D Johnson

Article Type

Review

Published

This review will discuss the need for diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship, the interplay of diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship, evidence of benefit to antimicrobial stewardship programmes, and considerations for successfully engaging in diagnostic stewardship interventions.

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