Get Smart About Antibiotics Week

November 12-18, 2012

APUA is proud to have been a national partner of the CDC's Get Smart About Antibiotics Week since 2010. Get Smart About Antibiotics Week is an annual effort to coordinate the work of CDC’s Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign, state-based appropriate antibiotic use campaigns, non-profit partners, and for-profit partners during a one week observance of antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use.

This year, for Get Smart About Antibiotics Week APUA produced a webinar about Antibiotic Stewardship.

Containing Healthcare Associated Infections Through Antibiotic Stewardship Live event: Wednesday, November 14, 2012  1:00 PM EST PACE® credit available until May 13, 2013 There is no charge to view this webinar.

A recent APUA study found that antibiotic-resistant infections can add nearly 13 hospital days per patient, and up to $26 billion in annual US healthcare costs*. The number of hospitalizations associated with C. difficile infections has tripled to 335,000 annually, while the number of deaths has quadrupled in the past decade. New ESBLs have evolved dramatically in the recent decades, such that few treatment options remain for infections caused by these exceptionally resistant pathogens. And of the estimated 478,000 US hospitalizations with S. aureus infection, approximately 58% were related to MRSA. Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) are recommended by the CDC and IDSA as essential in controlling these most problematic infections. This webinar will describe the nature of antimicrobial resistance, identify trends of major resistant infections, and delineate the important components of successful antimicrobial stewardship. This webinar will: • Describe trends of major HAIs including MRSA, ESBLs and C. difficile • Review the causes and mechanisms driving antibiotic resistance problems • Explain the link between antibiotic overuse and the emergence of resistant infections • Review effective ASP practices and the importance of diagnostics in improving antibiotic treatment and minimizing resistance • Illustrate specific examples to enhance hospital-based antimicrobial stewardship * (CIDOct 2009) This webinar is produced by the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics in conjunction with the Tufts Medical Center and is funded by an unrestricted grant from Alere.

Presenters: Stuart Levy, M.D. Professor of Medicine Tufts University School of Medicine President, APUA Shira Doron, M.D., M.S. Assistant Professor of Medicine Tufts University School of Medicine

 
To learn more about Antimicrobial Stewardship please see our recent APUA Clinical Newsletters:

Volume 29 No. 3
December 16, 2011
"Enhancing Infection Control with Antibiotic Stewardship" (PDF)

Volume 29 No.1
June 14, 2011
"Anitbiotic Stewardship Gaining Traction: Recommended Models and Resources" (PDF)
 

About the CDC Campaign

In response to rising rates of resistance and inappropriate prescribing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the National Campaign for Appropriate Antibiotic Use in the Community in 1995. In 2003, the campaign was branded and launched as Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work.

This campaign aims to reduce the rate of rise of antibiotic resistance by:

1. Promoting adherence to appropriate prescribing guidelines among providers,
2. Decreasing demand for antibiotics for viral upper respiratory infections among healthy adults and parents of young children, and
3. Increasing adherence to prescribed antibiotics for upper respiratory infections.

The Get Smart campaign targets the five respiratory conditions that in 1992 accounted for more than 75% of all office-based prescribing for all ages combined: otitis media, sinusitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, and the common cold. Its partner campaigns, Get Smart for Healthcare and Get Smart on the Farm, are focused on optimization of antibiotic use in inpatient healthcare settings and in veterinary medicine/animal agriculture.

The 2012 observance of Get Smart About Antibiotics Week also marked the third year of an international collaboration, which coincides with European Antibiotic Awareness Day, Australia's Antibiotic Awareness Week and Canada's Antibiotic Awareness Week.

How to Become a CDC Get Smart Partner

There are many opportunities to collaborate in promoting appropriate antibiotic use, including, but not limited to:

• Providing education to healthcare consumers
• Distributing healthcare provider detailing sheets reviewing appropriate use guidelines
• Developing local level appropriate antibiotic use campaigns, including educational products Collaborating with Get Smart and local level programs on projects
• Exchanging in-kind services with Get Smart or local level campaigns
• Providing assistance to local level campaigns in producing educational materials or sponsoring events
• Delivering presentations on appropriate use to interested parties

For more information on partnership opportunities, please contact getsmart@cdc.gov.

CDC Daily Fact Sheets

• Antibiotics - will they work when you really need them?

• Delivering safe care for patients - all healthcare providers play a role

• Antibiotic stewardship - the ultimate return on investment

• Preserving antibiotics for the future

• Resistance anywhere = resistance everywhere

• Antibiotic use in nursing homes

CDC Brochures

• Cold or Flu. Antibiotics Don't Work For You
  This tri-fold brochure briefly explains the difference between bacteria and viruses and how bacteria become resistant. It also answers some common questions about when it is and is not appropriate to use an antibiotic.

• A Veces, el Remedio es Peor que la Enfermedad
  (In Spanish)

CDC Podcasts
 

• Antibiotic Overuse In this podcast, Dr. Tarayn Fairlie discusses the dangers of overusing antibiotics.

• Antibiotics, When and When Not to Use Them
  In this episode of Medical Discovery News, medical experts talk about when and how to use antibiotics the right way.

• Too Much of a Good Thing (A Minute of Health with CDC)
  Discusses how the use of antibiotics has increased significantly for many infections and how many common conditions can be overcome by simply treating the symptoms and letting the illness run its course.

• All You Have to Do is Wash Your Hands
  Teaches children how and when to wash their hands properly.

• Pharmacists Can Make the Difference
  A pharmacist counsels a frustrated mother about appropriate antibiotic use and symptomatic relief options for her son's cold.

• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
  Key facts about MRSA infections in the United States, including schools and healthcare settings.

• Antibiotic Overuse (A Cup of Health with CDC)
  The discovery of antibiotics was one of the greatest medical achievements of the twentieth century. However, overuse of these drugs has led to the development of resistance in bacteria. As a consequence, some infections can result in serious illness and even death. In this podcast, Dr. Tarayn Fairlie discusses the dangers of overusing antibiotics.

• Snort. Sniffle. Sneeze. No Antibiotics Please!
  Learn more about appropriate antibiotic use and how to feel better when you have a sore throat, ear or sinus pain, fever, cough or runny nose.