Diagnostics The fight against
ntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the leading public health threats of our time. For the past century or so, antibiotics like penicillin have turned previously dangerous infections into manageable conditions. However, as microbes become resistant to the drugs we use against them, diseases that once plagued humanity could become a danger once again. Tuberculosis (TB) is a particularly stark example. In 2017, more than half a million people
A
resistance
With antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on the rise, knowing the correct antibiotics to use on patients with bacterial infections is as important as ever. By conducting an antimicrobial susceptibility test, a physician can identify the most effective antibiotics to give patients, which ultimately results in better clinical outcomes. Abi Millar looks at advances and challenges in this diagnostic approach, and its role in the fight against AMR.
developed multi-drug resistant TB. The disease couldn’t be treated with the two most powerful drugs, and the resulting mortality rate among those patients was nearly 50%. In sub-Saharan Africa, where there are 230 million cases of the mosquito-borne disease malaria, there are growing fears of a drug resistant strain spreading. Even in HIV – a condition considered to be manageable nowadays – some antiretrovirals used in treatment are becoming less effective.
12
Practical Patient Care /
www.practical-patient-care.com
AnaLysiSStudiO/
Shutterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57
