Acceleration of Antimicrobial Stewardship Activities in India: Need of the hour

Contributed by Dr. Nishtha Khatri and Dr. Ashok Tamhankar

The menace posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in India requires urgent attention. Interventions need to be implemented to curb the development of AMR. Antimicrobial stewardship is an example of one such intervention.  Antimicrobial stewardship pertains to a coordinated effort aimed at optimal utilisation of antibiotics. The antimicrobial stewardship activities in India are still in incipient stage and require more emergence in future. There is immense scope in improving these activities by reinforcing the utilisation of information technology in monitoring and surveillance. To add to this, education and training is required to sensitise the staff about antimicrobial stewardship activities. Educating about the 4Ds: right drug, right dose, right dosing interval and right duration is a good example of the same. Effective implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programme will prove to be a very useful step towards meeting the goals of the National Action Plan-AMR.

Indian Antimicrobial Resistance Scenario: New decade, New Challenges

Contributed by Dr. Nishtha Khatri and Dr. Ashok Tamhankar

As we enter 2021 and advance into a new decade, we must be prepared to encounter new challenges which are likely to have an impact on the healthcare scenario in India. Whilst we are already fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is another important issue which requires urgent attention. India shoulders a huge burden of AMR and has been documented to have the highest number of Multi-drug Resistant  Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases and also increasing occurrence of MDR to WHO priority pathogens. Irrational antibiotic prescribing practices add a huge contribution towards AMR as we see an increasing trend in antibiotic prescriptions where antibiotics have been prescribed for a longer duration than required and sometimes even prescribed unnecessarily. To add to this, environmental sources such as water bodies in India, have demonstrated several antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Being mindful of this, there is a dire need to educate people about AMR and to encourage medical practitioners to promote rational prescribing of antibiotics. The article by Chandra et al. published in Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care discusses about antimicrobial resistance scenario in India and enlists various measures that can be undertaken to tackle AMR. For more details see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7380775/

 

Welcome Dr. Nishtha Khatri 

We welcome Dr. Nishtha Khatri, M.B.B.S, M.D. as a Scientific Blogger, Research Associate and Blog Coordinator at IIMAR. Dr. Nishtha Khatri completed her MD in Pharmacology from the very prestigious Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai and is currently  an Asstt Professor at Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital. She has good experience in the arena pertaining to Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).  

Dr. Ashok Tamahankar

National Coordinator, IIMAR