This book is a joint effort led by five editors, Kerry L. LaPlante, Cheston B. Cunha, Haley J. Morrill, Louis B. Rice, and Eleftherios Mylonakis, with a team of section editors and the authors, who have brought together 38 chapters that describe the principles and practice of antimicrobial stewardship, mainly with reference to the US. There are eight sections. The first provides an overview of antibiotic stewardship, and it looks at the principles and history of, clinical perspectives on, and importance of education in antimicrobial stewardship. The second, on the principles of antibiotic resistance in antibiotic stewardship, covers the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, the roles of selection, induction, and colonization in its emergence, and its association with antibiotic usage strategies. Section III, on the role of the microbiology laboratory, considers active surveillance, the antibiogram, selective reporting, and new diagnostics. The fourth section, on infection control, reviews the epidemiology of a number of important antimicrobial-resistant organisms and discusses the role of the hospital epidemiologist in antibiotic stewardship. Section V, on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic aspects of antibiotic dosing, deals with the principles of pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, the optimal use of several classes of antibiotics, and switching from intravenous to oral dosing. The sixth section, on the role of the pharmacy department, examines the role of pharmacists, formulary management, benchmarking, and stewardship interventions and technologic support for these. Section VII deals with the measurement of outcomes of stewardship programmes, and includes discussion of the guidelines and milestones, economic aspects, adverse events, and stewardship in areas of increased resistance. The final section explores antimicrobial stewardship at different practice sites, looking at how it converges with the unique populations involved.
Includes bibliographical references.