ICMR Releases New Antimicrobial Stewardship Guidelines, Calls For Judicious Use Of Antibiotics

New Delhi, 20 Nov 2018: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has released Antimicrobial Stewardship Guidelines to mark the World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2018, which is observed every year in November to encourage healthy practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. 

The aim of the guideline is to provide guidance to Indian hospitals to set up structure and process of antimicrobial stewardship programmes (AMSP). The audience for this document is hospital administrators and clinicians.

“With very few new antibiotics in the pipeline, it is important to use the existing drugs judiciously. Since inappropriate use of antibiotics is rampant in India, there is an urgent need to improve antibiotic use in hospitals, which can be achieved through implementation of good AMS programmes. AMS programmes have been found helpful in improving the quality of patient care and safety through increasing the frequency of correct therapy and prophylaxis, reducing treatment failures and increased infection cure rates,” the ICMR said in a statement.

Unfortunately, most of hospitals in India lack structure and process of AMSP. Recognizing the importance to create AMSP structures in health care institutions in the country, ICMR had initiated AMSP activities by developing AMSP curriculum and conducting AMSP training workshops. The AMSP guidelines will provide guidance to administrators on setting up structure and processes of AMSP in their healthcare institutions.

Continuing the capacity building initiative of ICMR on AMSP, ICMR is also organizing AMSP training which will have more than 150 participants from various hospitals and medical colleges. ICMR had organised four such workshops last year in which 150 healthcare staff from 32 medical colleges and hospitals were trained. Almost all the hospitals that participated in the workshop have initiated AMSP activities. Pharmabiz