In a collaboration involving 5 centres, Dr Mamoon Aldeyab from Ulster Biomedical Sciences Research Institute publishes a study in Nature microbiology allowing for better design of antibiotic stewardship.
Antibiotic stewardships were established to inform adequate antibiotic prescribing practices. The challenge for antibiotic stewardships, however, is to balance adequate antibiotic treatment with preventing the emergence of antibiotic resistance.
Resistant pathogens may only gain a survival advantage where antibiotic selection pressures exceed critical thresholds. In this study, the minimum thresholds in use of selected antibiotics and rates of specific pathogens were identified.
This allowed for the identification of targets for rationalising antibiotic use and controlling pathogen resistance, paving the way forward for better informing the design of antibiotic stewardship.