Fluoroquinolone antibacterial drugs (FQs) are associated with disabling and potentially permanent side effects of the tendons, muscles, joints, nerves, and central nervous system that can occur together in the same patient.

We’re all well aware that infection is a major problem among hospitalized patients, sometimes arriving with infection as a reason for admission and sometimes developing infection in the hospital.  In either case, infection is among the top causes of death in the hospital and hospital-acquired infections affect one in 20 patients. 

The use of telehealth and telemedicine offers powerful tools for delivering clinical care, conducting medical research, and enhancing access to infectious diseases physicians. 

Data from community antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are limited. We describe clinical and economic outcomes from the first year of our hospital's ASP.

For decades, our growing and reliable arsenal of antibiotic and antimicrobial drugs created a dangerously cavalier attitude toward the nature of microbial pathogens and the true threat to public health they represent. Numerous indicators tell us that the problem of drug resistance is rapidly expanding. 

Health Information Technology (HIT) is the generation and transmission of digital health data. Within HIT, Telehealth is the use of remote health care technology to deliver clinical services and is becoming increasingly vital to our health care delivery system, enabling health care providers to connect with patients and consulting practitioners across vast distances and/or in a timely manner. 

“Superbugs,” the trendy label for germs that can’t be killed by modern medicine, are gaining traction. Tiny enough to escape notice and having no respect for geographic borders, they can hitch a human ride on anyone, ending up anywhere on the globe.

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An antimicrobial stewardship program was fully implemented at the University of Maryland Medical Center in July 2001 (beginning of fiscal year [FY] 2002). Essential to the program was an antimicrobial monitoring team (AMT) consisting of an infectious diseases-trained clinical pharmacist and a part-time infectious diseases physician that provided real-time monitoring of antimicrobial orders and active intervention and education when necessary.

In AD 321, Roman Emperor Constantine the Great codified that there would be 7 days in a week. Even in the modern era of evidence-based-medicine, this 1695-year-old decree remains a primary reference for duration of antibiotic therapy: it leads physicians to treat infections in intervals of 7 days.

To evaluate an internet-based preapproval antimicrobial stewardship program for sustained reduction in antimicrobial prescribing and resulting cost savings.

The University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC) is a 300-bed tertiary care facility. UMMC has had a long-standing, comprehensive antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP).

A study published in Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control examined the economical and clinical impact of antimicrobial stewardship programs.