This question addresses the practical implementation and impact of regional antibiograms, vital for tailoring antibiotic treatment and combating antibiotic resistance within diverse healthcare settings.
Antibiotic prescription is often empiric and, while this is a necessary approach, due to the urgency in treating bacterial infections, it may not always lead to using the most effective antimicrobial to treat that particular strain. Therefore, a second one may be necessary. Meanwhile, bacteria were subjected to a sublethal agent, the host's microbiota has been exposed to the uneffective antibiotic, and antibiotic residues may be excreted to the environment, thus contributing to build a selective pressure that favours resistant strains of bacteria.
By attending antibiotic stewardship programs, it can use data to guide antibiotic prescribing practices, promoting the appropriate use if antibiotics to reduce resistance. Public agencies can also intervene to use regional antibiogram data to identify emerging resistance trends and develop strategies to address them.
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