The global threat of antimicrobial resistance - The need for standardized surveillance tools to define burden and develop interventions

Abstract

nti-microbial resistance (AMR) is one the biggest issues he medical community is currently facing, as evidenced y the increasing prevalence of pan-resistant strains. In ddition to treatment options, AMR also has major finanial and economical implications. It has been estimated hat up to 50% of antimicrobial use is inappropriate; each ear approximately 2 million people in the US are infected ith a resistant organism.1 Up to 23,000 yearly deaths are eportedly caused directly by such infections.1 The situation s further complicated in low-income countries by lack of ffective surveillance systems, laboratory diagnostics, and ccess to appropriate antimicrobials in the face of financial imitations. The emergence of MDR Gram-negative bacterial (GNB) esistance is particularly of concern, especially in intenive care units (ICUs) and immunocompromised patients,