APUA Webinar on Antimicrobial Stewardship

Get Smart About Antibiotics Week

November 12-18, 2012

APUA is proud to have been a national partner of the CDC's Get Smart About Antibiotics Week since 2010. Get Smart About Antibiotics Week is an annual effort to coordinate the work of CDC’s Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign, state-based appropriate antibiotic use campaigns, non-profit partners, and for-profit partners during a one week observance of antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use.

This year, for Get Smart About Antibiotics Week APUA produced a webinar about Antibiotic Stewardship.

Containing Healthcare Associated Infections Through Antibiotic Stewardship Live event: Wednesday, November 14, 2012  1:00 PM EST PACE® credit available until May 13, 2013 There is no charge to view this webinar.
Presenters:
Stuart Levy, M.D. Professor of Medicine Tufts University School of Medicine President, APUA	Shira Doron, M.D., M.S. Assistant Professor of Medicine Tufts University School of Medicine

A recent APUA study found that antibiotic-resistant infections can add nearly 13 hospital days per patient, and up to $26 billion in annual US healthcare costs*. The number of hospitalizations associated with C. difficile infections has tripled to 335,000 annually, while the number of deaths has quadrupled in the past decade.

New ESBLs have evolved dramatically in the recent decades, such that few treatment options remain for infections caused by these exceptionally resistant pathogens. And of the estimated 478,000 US hospitalizations with S. aureus infection, approximately 58% were related to MRSA. Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) are recommended by the CDC and IDSA as essential in controlling these most problematic infections. This webinar will describe the nature of antimicrobial resistance, identify trends of major resistant infections, and delineate the important components of successful antimicrobial stewardship.

This webinar will:
• Describe trends of major HAIs including MRSA, ESBLs and C. difficile
• Review the causes and mechanisms driving antibiotic resistance problems
• Explain the link between antibiotic overuse and the emergence of resistant infections
• Review effective ASP practices and the importance of diagnostics in improving antibiotic treatment and minimizing resistance
• Illustrate specific examples to enhance hospital-based antimicrobial stewardship

* (CIDOct 2009)

This webinar is produced by the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics in conjunction with the Tufts Medical Center and is funded by an unrestricted grant from Alere.

To learn more about Antimicrobial Stewardship please see our recent APUA Clinical Newsletters:

Volume 29 No. 3
December 16, 2011
"Enhancing Infection Control with Antibiotic Stewardship" (PDF)

Volume 29 No.1
June 14, 2011
"Anitbiotic Stewardship Gaining Traction: Recommended Models and Resources" (PDF)

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