Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Apr 22;2(1):e68.
doi: 10.1017/ash.2022.47. eCollection 2022.

Antimicrobial stewardship in Latin America: Past, present, and future

Affiliations
Review

Antimicrobial stewardship in Latin America: Past, present, and future

Valeria Fabre et al. Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol. .

Abstract

Implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) in well-resourced countries has been associated with reductions in antibiotic-resistant infections and improved patient outcomes. Several guidance documents providing recommendations on how to structure antimicrobial stewardship activities at the national and hospital level in resource-limited settings have been published. However, few hospitals in Latin America report having a structure or resources needed for a successful ASP. Given the alarming increases in antimicrobial resistance in Latin America, better understanding of barriers to promote implementation of effective ASPs is urgently needed. We have summarized past and present antimicrobial stewardship activities in Latin American hospitals, and we describe key elements needed in future efforts to strengthen antimicrobial stewardship in the region.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Physician and pharmacist per 100,000 people in Central and South American countries. Source: World Health Organization’s Global Health Workforce Statistics and Global Health Observatory.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Suggested domains and determinants to consider for successful implementation of antimicrobial stewardship activities.

References

    1. Latin American Network for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance—ReLAVRA data Visualization Dashboards. Pan American Health Organization website. https://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=153.... Accessed April 5, 2022.
    1. Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization. Epidemiological alert: emergence and increase of new combinations of carbapenemases in Enterobacterales in Latin America and the Caribbean. Washington, DC: PAHO/WHO; October 22, 2021.
    1. Slayton RB, Toth D, Lee BY, et al. Vital signs: estimated effects of a coordinated approach for action to reduce antibiotic-resistant infections in healthcare facilities—United States. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2015;64:826–831. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fighting antimicrobial resistance in the Americas. Pan American Health Organizatin website. https://www.paho.org/en/file/84741/download?token=Wqs5fMqi. Accessed April 5, 2022.
    1. Shlaes DM, Gerding DN, John JF Jr, et al. Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and Infectious Diseases Society of America Joint Committee on the Prevention of Antimicrobial Resistance: guidelines for the prevention of antimicrobial resistance in hospitals. Clin Infect Dis 1997;25:584–599. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources