World Antibiotic Awareness Week – November 18th to 24th – Effective Antibiotics Key For Sepsis Treatment

From November 18th to 24th, World Antibiotic Awareness Week aims to increase global awareness about the misuse of antibiotics and the risks posed by resistant bacteria.

Timely and targeted antimicrobial stewardship in the context of appropriate urgent therapy represents the cornerstone of effective sepsis therapy. Adult patients who receive antimicrobials within three hours of sepsis recognition have increased chances of survival. Similarly, in children with sepsis and septic shock, several cohorts report substantially better outcomes in those who receive timely intravenous antibiotics. We remain mindful that antimicrobial resistance represents a serious threat: it has been estimated that AMR contributes to at least 10% of sepsis deaths worldwide.

Over the past years, stimulating controversy on the use of antibiotics in sepsis treatment has perhaps overlooked that the aims of sepsis campaigns in fact closely align with the global agenda on antimicrobial stewardship: delivering the right antimicrobial for the right patient, and stopping antibiotics where they are no longer necessary.

The Surviving Sepsis Campaign recommends, in fact, to initiate sepsis treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics covering the main likely pathogens, followed by narrowing to targeted therapy if a pathogen or source is identified, and stopping antimicrobial therapy if bacterial or fungal infection is felt unlikely to be the cause. Indiscriminate administration of early antibiotics is not only unnecessary but may also lead to increased costs and adverse effects on the patients or their community, such as the spread of increased antimicrobial resistance.

AMR was one of the themes of this years’ World Sepsis Congress Spotlight - the talks and presentations are available here. The Global Sepsis Alliance and the World Sepsis Day Movement strongly believe that prompt sepsis treatment can be achieved with the responsible and effective use of antimicrobials.

The World Health Organization and many other organizations produce material and organize events to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers, and policymakers to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections – we encourage you to join their campaign.