Addressing clinical safety of antimicrobial resistance: personal perspectives

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance is an important challenge for patients, societies, practicing physicians and health care organizations worldwide. Predictions in regard to the morbidity and mortality of antimicrobial resistance are grave especially in the setting of an era where the pipeline of production of antimicrobial agents is relatively dry.

Areas covered: Herein, a viewpoint will be provided regarding antimicrobial bacterial resistance as a clinical safety need based on personal experience and data from the literature.

Expert opinion: A variety of antibiotics has been produced during the last decade but novelty regarding truly new antimicrobial agents is rather little, as these new antibiotics are mainly based on modifications of known pharmaceutical molecules. Therefore, as there is still a desperate need to address optimal clinical safety in regard to antimicrobial resistance, we believe that strong financial incentives and rewards to producers of antimicrobial agents (especially new in concept) are necessary. Furthermore, global surveillance of antimicrobial resistance as suggested by the World Health Organization, coordination of measures of justified and appropriate use of antibiotics and application of strict infection control principles are needed to lessen the negative clinical impact of antimicrobial resistance.

KEYWORDS:

• MDR
• XDR
• PDR
• bacteria
• antimicrobial resistance
• antibiotics

Declaration of interest

M E Falagas participated in advisory boards of AstraZeneca, Infectopharm, Tetraphase, Shionogi, and Xellia; received lecture honoraria from Cipla, Merck, and Pfizer; and received research support from Shionogi and Tetraphase. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.