One of the most serious consequences that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought with it has been the increase in antibiotic resistance, a phenomenon which, according to the latest Report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States, resulted in a 15% increase in infections and deaths due to antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Alarming data that highlight a threat that cannot be ignored and needs to be addressed promptly with effective tools. 

But before studying prevention methods, let’s take a small step back: what is meant by antibiotic resistance? 

We at AMIL Care think it is essential to reflect on this issue. For this reason, we have decided to dedicate an article to you, designed to assist the work of professionals such as purchasing managers in hospitals, medical equipment management managers, clinical engineers (Aiic), safety and hygiene managers (HSE), those responsible for clinical risk management (that is, risk managers). 

Antibiotic resistance: a problem that affects everyone

From the website of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) we read that: “The term antibiotic resistance means the ability of a bacterium to resist the action of one or more antibiotic drugs and therefore to survive and multiply even in their presence. This type of resistance can be both innate (when the bacterium is naturally resistant to an antibiotic) and acquired (when a bacterium becomes resistant to the action of an antibiotic drug through modifications to its genetic heritage). 

Indeed, recently, some antibiotics commonly used to treat bacterial infections (such as penicillin in bacterial pneumonia) have become less effective or even no longer work due to excessive and often incorrect use. This leads to several problems because any bacterium that survives an antibiotic treatment can become resistant, multiply and transfer its antibiotic resistance to other bacteria as well. 

Not to mention that the spread of resistant bacteria in hospitals and health care facilities is a safety issue for patients, increases the number of cases of illness and death and the length of hospitalizations.  

Also, from the ISS data, it is estimated that in Italy about 30-60% of the bacteria that cause hospital and healthcare-related infections are resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics (first choice). For this reason, the greatest concern is that bacteria resistant to all available antibiotics (pan-resistant) may develop. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly declared antibiotic resistance as one of the main public health problems worldwide and has produced a series of recommendations and strategies to try to contain this phenomenon. 

The CDC Report: increasing prevention in structures

The recently published CDC Report, entitled “COVID-19 Reverses Progress in Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance in the U.S“, as we mentioned at the beginning, describes an alarming situation. In the United States, there was a 15% increase in infections and deaths due to antibiotic-resistant pathogens in 2020 alone. The report analyzed data on infections due to resistant bacteria in the first year of the pandemic, finding that more than 29,400 people died due to an antibiotic-resistant infection and that in 40% of cases the infection was contacted in hospital. 

The pathogens that caused the most infections were: 

  • Acinetobacter, resistant to carbapenems – 78% increase in infections
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa, multi-drug resistant – 32% increase in infections
  • Enterococcus, vancomycin resistant (VRE) – 14% increase in infections
  • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) – 13% increase in infections.

But that is not all. The Report indicated that resistance to antifungals also increased in 2020: Candida auris increased by 60% and the various species of Candida (excluding Candida auris) increased by 26%. 

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in healthcare facilities there are still too many difficulties in following the guidelines for infection prevention and control, fundamental tools that indicate the strategies to be adopted and the practices to be carried out to reduce the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance. Among the recommendations recommended worldwide for prevention also include: 

  • checking the cleanliness of rooms and surfaces;
  • hygiene of hands and tools used in healthcare practices;
  • the correct use of disinfectants.

AMIL Care’s answer: Medisystem

Prevention is therefore the first response to counter a phenomenon that has a gigantic scope and is likely to become an increasing threat in all societies.  

However, prevention must be based on correct sanitization of environments and must rely on tools that are validated, safe and effective. In this context, AMIL Care offers a simple and safe system, based on a patented and CE and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) certified device. 

We are talking about the Medisystem system which guarantees high-level total disinfection thanks also to the “NO TOUCH” technology capable of treating volumes from 10 to 10,000 m3 (from 350 to 350,000 ft3). In particular, the Medibios Plus device is the latest generation micro-nebulizer of ready-to-use solutions designed for the most diverse needs of the hospital sector. Medibios Plus is a class I medical device that is practical, easy to handle and highly technological, capable of adapting to various hospital and healthcare contexts. It is positioned in the intermediate range of the Medibios range produced by AMIL Care and is covered by a European, American and Mexican patent. It is a device equipped with two adjustable nozzles that dispense liquid solutions in three cycles – sanitation, disinfection, and disinfestation. Among its features there are: 

  • early notification of the start of the cycle;
  • room temperature reading;
  • reporting of any alarms;
  • indication of the washing cycle;
  • 300 customizable programs for each cycle;
  • the start of the programs in two ways, immediate or weekly pre-programmed;
  • checking the level of liquid in the product;
  • the option of memorizing the program used and the related product, with all related information;
  • saving of cycle reports on USB pen drive in PDF format;
  • password protected access.