Hospitalists Poised to Prevent, Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Pathogens
“If either of those things were to change—for example, if the rate of infections were to increase, or if these isolates were to become more resistant—then we would have to think about changing this from a serious threat to an urgent threat,” Dr. Patel says.
Another infection in the serious category that should be on hospitalists’ radar is drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. A new vaccine is helping to decrease the number of these infections, but hospitalists should be vigilant about infections that could escape the vaccine and become resistant, Dr. Patel says.
The report estimates as much as $20 billion in excess healthcare costs due to antimicrobial-resistant infections, with $35 billion in lost productivity in 2008 dollars.1
Ketino Kobaidze, MD, assistant professor at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and a member of the antimicrobial stewardship and infectious disease control committees at Emory University Hospital Midtown, says the sheer numbers are sure to get people to take notice.
“Two million is lots of patients,” she says. “It’s eye-opening, really, for many doctors and patients and society.”
The silver lining, she says, is that the field is moving toward diagnostic tools that will provide quick feedback on the type of infection at work.
It may be that hospitalists have no choice but to give an antibiotic to a patient because of the risk involved in not giving one; however, providers should quickly tailor that treatment to target the specific pathogen when more information is available.
—Ketino Kobaidze, MD, assistant professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, member, antimicrobial stewardship and infectious disease control committees, Emory University Hospital Midtown
“The most important thing, I think, for hospital medicine and medicine anywhere, is to follow up with whatever you’re ordering and notice right away what happens with these tests. If it’s positive or negative, redirect your care,” Dr. Kobaidze says. “Time is really an important issue here.
“As hospitalists, we need to be extremely cautious not to give them something they don’t need.”
Dr. Kobaidze was particularly struck by gonorrhea being listed in the “urgent” threat category.
“It was so easy to treat before,” she says. “It was nothing, piece of cake. This makes me a little bit concerned.”
Robert Orenstein, DO, an infectious disease expert at Mayo Clinic, praises the report and says hospitalists have a key role to play.
“I think this has a clear impact on hospitalists, who are the primary caregivers of many of these ill patients,” he says. “We need to educate them and build systems that target antimicrobials to the infecting agents and limit their use. Hospitalists are also the people who can help protect patients from the spread of these in the hospital by following appropriate infection prevention guidelines and educating their colleagues of the importance of this.”
He also stresses the importance of being aware of threats within your specific region.
“Many of these MDROs [multi-drug resistant organisms] have regional prevalence,” he says. “And it’s important to know which bugs are in your region so you can work with your institution and public health to tackle these.”
Tom Collins is a freelance writer in South Florida.
