Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is one of the most common problems in most countries worldwide with high rates of resistance reported in our region. This global problem is expected to lead to a high mortality rate by 2050, surpassing other common causes of deadly diseases such as cancer and heart diseases.
Antibiotic Resistance happens when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them. That means the germs are not killed and continue to grow. Antibiotic resistance does not mean the body is becoming resistant to antibiotics; it is that bacteria have become resistant to the antibiotics designed to kill them.
There are several reasons leading to the bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, and one of the most important of these reasons is the misuse or overuse of the currently available antibiotics by prescribing them to patients without a medical justification.
The best example for this is treatment of upper respiratory tract infections, which is often viral and does not require antibiotics or to give the patient very strong types of antibiotics, while it is possible to treat the same infection with other types of antibiotics that are still effective and at the same time have little impact on the development of antimicrobial resistance.
Importance of Stewardship Programs
In order to reduce the overuse or misuse of antibiotics, the idea of launching antibiotic stewardship programs has been introduced, the aim of these programs is to advise for proper use of antibiotics and to prevent misuse which can lead to Antibiotic Resistance and result in additional therapeutic complications and higher health care costs.
Prime Healthcare Group was a pioneer in Dubai and the UAE in general applying Antibiotic Stewardship Program in 2016 as the first private hospital to take this important initiative by developing an integrated set of interventions that help and guide the doctor to prescribe the appropriate antibiotic to the patient, which gives efficient and cost-effective treatment for its patients in order to prevent the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria and reducing side effects associated with the use of antibiotics.
Prime Healthcare Group represented by Dr. Jamil Ahmed, Managing Director of the Group is fully committed to support this program in the belief that we can create a difference in the health and lives of people when we use antibiotics in a wise manner, which helps to address the problem of Antibiotic Resistance, ensure the safety of patients and provide appropriate care for them. This comes as part of the efforts of Prime Hospital and Prime Healthcare Group to promote health safety in Dubai and in the UAE.
Prescribing suitable medicine
One of the most important interventions implemented in this initiative is the development of a unique system within our electronic medical records to help doctors to prescribe the most appropriate antibiotics for a suitable time and to provide the necessary resources electronically to guide the doctor before prescribing the antibiotics.
These include: developing clinical guidelines for prescribing antibiotics for different types of infectious bacteria according to the infection site, providing data related to resistant organisms and developing an antibiotic chart (antibiogram) that lists bacterial agents causing common bacterial diseases, to help doctors choose the appropriate antibiotics for the organism causing infection.
Those interventions have resulted in a manifest decrease in the use of some types of antibiotics in some departments across the group, those antibiotics are frequently associated with the development of resistant bacteria.
Also, Prime Healthcare Group has developed & printed some educational materials for patients to increase their level of awareness of the problems of antibiotics misuse or overuse and Antibiotics Resistance. The group has presented these educational materials to patients through several channels such as printed brochures and posters, displayed the same on all TV screens in the waiting rooms as well as in the website.
It is everyone’s responsibility to work hard in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, to achieve this and to answer the starting question: implementing Antibiotics Stewardship Program is a necessity not optional.
By Dr. Dirar Abdallah, Consultant Internal Medicine & Head of ICU Department at Prime Hospital, Chair of Antibiotics Stewardship Program (ASP) & Member of UAE National ASP Committee
