Promoting appropriate antibiotic use in European intensive care units: European Antibiotic Awareness Day – November 18th 2015

This EU initiative is endorsed by ESICM!

http://antibiotic.ecdc.europa.eu
(here you can find evidence-based key messages and materials for different target audiences, including messages and template materials for medical doctors (hospital prescribers and primary care prescribers))

Patients in European intensive care units (ICUs) are increasingly inflicted with infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, which require treatment with last-line antibiotics. The societal and financial costs of treating these multidrug-resistant infections place a significant human and economic burden on hospitals and society, as these patients are more likely to remain in the ICU and the hospital for  longer periods of time, and to have poorer outcomes.

European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) is a European health initiative coordinated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Each year on 18 November, it provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the threat to public health posed by antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and to communicate about the importance of the appropriate use of antibiotics.

Since the first EAAD in 2008, the involvement of European countries has grown steadily. In 2014, with the support of WHO/Europe, over 40 European countries organised activities to mark EAAD. This year, the World Health Organization (WHO) is organising its first World Antibiotic Awareness Week from 16-22 November. ECDC will partner with this global initiative by promoting appropriate antibiotic use across Europe, starting with an EU-launch event on 16 November in Brussels and continuing with social media activities on 18 November and throughout World Antibiotic Awareness Week.

The European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) and the ESICM Infection Section support EAAD and strongly believe that this message should be heard by all healthcare workers in ICUs in Europe and beyond.

Intensivists have a key role to play in contributing to appropriate use of antibiotics:

• By reducing, whenever possible, the duration of antibiotic treatment and unnecessary use of broad-spectrum antibiotics;
• By promoting use of optimal doses of antibiotics;
• By communicating with the families of ICU patients about the relationship between antibiotic use and the development of antibiotic resistance;
• By promoting appropriate antibiotic use among all healthcare workers in the ICU as well as their peers.

Join us on Social Media during World Antibiotic Awareness Week & show your support of this important initiative:

#EAAD (European) #AntibioticResistance (Global)