Healthcare Associated Infections, Antimicrobial Resistance and Health Economics
A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 7900
Special Issue Editor
Interests: epidemiology; infectious diseases; antimicrobial resistance; antibiotics resistance determinants; healthcare infections; hygiene; infection prevention and control; surveillance; biostatistics; public health interventions
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The increasing spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a global public health threat and a serious concern for healthcare delivery. Significantly, it is projected to cause more deaths than all cancers combined by 2050. The misuse and overuse of antimicrobials are the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant pathogens, increasing the trend of multidrug resistance (MDR). According to estimates of from the Global Burden of Disease study in 2019, almost 5 million deaths were associated with bacterial AMR. Without effective antimicrobials, the success of modern medicine in treating infections—including during major surgery and cancer chemotherapy—would be utterly jeopardised. Moreover, the cost of AMR to the economy is also significant. In addition to death and disability, prolonged illness results in longer hospital stays, the need for more expensive medicines, and other financial challenges. According to the World Bank, the projected economic losses as a result AMR are comparable to those caused by the global financial crisis in 2008–2009, in terms of the annual reduction in global Gross Domestic Product. The majority of infections caused by MDR bacteria are of nosocomial origin, accounting for a burden comparable to that of the highest ranking non-communicable diseases in Europe. Preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) is therefore an essential priority in strategies to curtail AMR emergence. Thankfully, 70% of HAIs are estimated to be avoidable with current evidence-based infection prevention and control (IPC) interventions.
The COVID-19 pandemic generated profound repercussions on hospital ecology, and has led to increased AMR rates; this is likely due to the disruption of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and IPC activities, the large use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials, and a rise in critical admissions in settings already highly endemic for MDR strains. Current procedures will likely become inadequate to protect vulnerable patients from severe MDR infections. Therefore, novel multisectoral approaches are urgently required—both for prevention and control—to fight the increasing challenge of AMR in healthcare systems worldwide.
We welcome articles focusing on, but by no means limited to:
(1) Epidemiology and prevention of HAIs;
(2) Multidrug-resistant microorganisms and therapeutic strategies;
(3) Antimicrobial consumption;
(4) The economic burden of HAIs and AMR.
Dr. Manuela Tamburro
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- antimicrobial resistance
- antimicrobials consumption
- antimicrobial stewardship
- COVID-19 pandemic
- health and economic burden
- healthcare infections
- multidrug resistance
- treatment options
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