The silent pandemic: Antimicrobial resistance
With weak infection control and prevention, the spread of microbes is facilitated and their powers may even be enhanced. Such microbes can be resistant to antibiotics, which will make the infections they are causing more severe or even deadly.
Every year in November the World Health Organization (WHO) is paying attention to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Through the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week the hope is that more people will be introduced to this rising problem and that we together can find new solutions for this threat.
In addition to the suffering of those infected, the cost of AMR is significant for the economy with longer hospital stays and need for more advanced medicines. This money can be better spent preventing the infections in the first place.
The best way to avoid suffering and not fuel resistance is to eliminate the risk of infections from the beginning whenever possible. This includes having excellent hygiene routines and a sterile surgical workflow that ensures cleanliness of all tools and implants. As sterile processing in general works really well, there is a risk of leaving the sterile goods exposed to dirty air inside the operating rooms just as they are about to be used. Air quality inside operating rooms is often the weakest point in the surgical workflow and ensuring sterility at all times will lower the number of microbes entering the wound, which in turn minimizes the risk of infections and thus additional use of antibiotics.
So with the threat of antimicrobial resistance threatening the surgery we may all need one day, let us work diligently together towards zero infections. And remember that a first step is to make sure that as few of them as possible ever happen.
If you want to learn more on how your medical facility can reduce the airborne transmission of infections, please contact us at Avidicare. We have extensive knowledge in how air is behaving and moving in the most critical parts of the hospital, and we can help you to design a safe environment for both patients and staff.
Source: WHO
Background:
WHO states that the rising antimicrobial resistance is a global threat, and it is of importance that we all contribute to a more sustainable use of antimicrobial treatments. You can read more about the need for coordinated action here.
Reference:
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-antimicrobial-awareness-week/2021
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance