{"id":7930,"date":"2023-02-22T00:51:05","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T23:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amil-care.com\/?p=7930"},"modified":"2023-05-09T15:24:06","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T13:24:06","slug":"antibiotic-resistant-bacteria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amil-care.com\/en\/2023\/02\/22\/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria\/","title":{"rendered":"Threats of multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fight against infections also includes the fight against <\/span>multi-resistant bacteria<\/span><\/b>. We at AMIL Care know this well, and for this reason, we have decided to dedicate an in-depth article to the subject.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s start dealing with the topic of infections due to <\/span>multi-resistant bacteria<\/span><\/b> by understanding the first fundamental difference between them. In fact, depending on the time of onset, infections are divided into two categories: <\/span>hospital<\/span><\/b> (or nosocomial) <\/span>infections <\/span><\/b>and <\/span>community infections<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The first are those that arise during hospitalization, generally after about 48 hours from the moment of acceptance. The Covid-19 emergency has once again highlighted the critical issues posed by these infections in a healthcare system based on hospitalization.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The latter are those already clinically manifest or incubating at the time of admission to the hospital.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, the category of community infections can be further divided into \u201ccommunity-acquired infections\u201d and \u201chealthcare-associated infections\u201d (HAI).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Usually, an infection is considered to be care-related if the patient who contracts it has been admitted to an intensive care unit for two or more days within 90 days of the onset of the illness or has resided in a nursing home; or has undergone intravenous antibiotic therapy, chemotherapy, or wound treatment within the last 30 days; or has recently attended a hospital or hemodialysis center.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0What are multi-resistant bacteria?<\/h2>\n

Invisible, but highly lethal: <\/span>multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) or antibiotic-resistant bacteria<\/span><\/b> are one of the main enemies of human development. The WHO has listed them among the top 10 threats to global public health.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But what are multiresistant bacteria? These are bacteria resistant to one or more classes of antibiotics available today. Typically, they are bacteria mostly associated with hospital infections and HAIs. However, some of them have become quite prevalent causes of community-acquired infections. This leads to significant growth in the population at risk.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The spread of <\/span>multi-resistant bacteria<\/span><\/b> even outside hospital facilities is linked to the increase in morbidity, mortality, healthcare costs, and the use of antibiotics. <\/span>Multi-resistant bacteria<\/span><\/b> are generally not very virulent: their resistance to known antibiotic therapies makes them more dangerous than others.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Multi-resistant bacteria: when they appear<\/h2>\n

Since anyone can be colonized by these bacteria, it is the host’s condition that will determine the onset of infection: as one can easily imagine, the most at-risk categories are, for example, immunosuppressed patients, patients suffering from multiple pathologies, patients undergoing frequent and invasive diagnostic therapies (such as bone marrow or solid organ transplants), and patients undergoing prolonged hospitalization.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the severity of the clinical conditions, a risk factor for the onset of infection can also be the transfer of a hospitalized patient to another country or another facility.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The main European organization responsible for the surveillance of infections caused by <\/span>multi-resistant bacteria<\/span><\/b> is the <\/span>European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network <\/span><\/i>(EARS-Net). The action of the network is based on protocols and data cyclically reported to the ECDC by the representatives of the Member States. The ECDC website features real patient stories that illustrate the challenges of treating infections of this type, and how they can affect daily life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Italy, there is a diffusion among the highest in Europe for many <\/span>multi-resistant bacteria<\/span><\/b>. The cause is to be found in several elements, such as high or inappropriate consumption of antibiotics, poor hand hygiene, insufficiently coordinated control, and monitoring actions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and how do they work?<\/h2>\n

We started talking about the characteristics of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It is therefore natural to ask which are<\/span>, in fact,<\/span> the most common of these bacteria. Currently, the most common <\/span>multiresistant bacteria <\/span><\/b>are:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n