The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · Nov 2013
Antimicrobial stewardship: English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilization and Resistance (ESPAUR).
The clinical, public health and economic implications of antimicrobial resistance present a major threat to future healthcare. Antimicrobial use is a major driver of resistance, and antimicrobial stewardship programmes are increasingly being advocated as a means of improving the quality of prescribing. However, to increase their impact and assess their success, a better understanding of antimicrobial usage, both in primary and secondary care, and linkage with antimicrobial resistance data are required. ⋯ In response to the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance, as highlighted in the Report of the Chief Medical Officer and on the request of the Department of Health, Public Health England has developed a new national programme, the English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilization and Resistance (ESPAUR). The programme will bring together the elements of antimicrobial utilization and resistance surveillance in both primary and secondary care settings, alongside the development of quality measures and methods to monitor unintended outcomes of antimicrobial stewardship and both public and professional behaviour interventions. This article reports on the background to the programme development, the current oversight group membership and the public reporting structure.
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · Nov 2013
MRSA decolonization of cotton rat nares by a combination treatment comprising lysostaphin and the antimicrobial peptide ranalexin.
To evaluate the in vivo effectiveness of a combination treatment containing ranalexin (a natural antimicrobial peptide) and lysostaphin (an antistaphylococcal endopeptidase) for reducing nasal burden of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). ⋯ Ranalexin/lysostaphin could serve as an alternative to mupirocin for nasal decolonization of MRSA.