Informed Switching Reduces Antibiotic Resistance in Hospitals
Author Information
Author(s): Kouyos Roger D., Abel zur Wiesch Pia, Bonhoeffer Sebastian
Primary Institution: Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Hypothesis
Can informed switching of antibiotics reduce the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in hospital wards?
Conclusion
Informed switching strategies can significantly decrease antibiotic resistance in small patient populations.
Supporting Evidence
- Informed switching strategies outperform traditional cycling and mixing strategies.
- The success of informed switching is enhanced by integrating resistance information over time.
- Even with the presence of doubly resistant strains, informed switching can still reduce resistance prevalence.
Takeaway
Switching between different antibiotics based on resistance information can help keep bacteria from becoming resistant, especially in small hospitals.
Methodology
An epidemiological model was used to assess the performance of informed switching strategies in a hospital ward.
Limitations
The model assumes a fixed number of beds and may not account for larger hospital dynamics.
Participant Demographics
The model focuses on a single hospital ward with a fixed number of 20 beds.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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