Antibiotic stewardship: a nut without a definite shell to crack

Abstract

Antibiotic stewardship aims to optimise antimicrobial treatment in order to ensure a reduction in the increasing level of global antimicrobial drug resistance which is taking on ominous proportions. Antibiotics are true miracle medicines that are threatened with ineffectiveness by the bacteria they were developed to combat. This article looks at antibiotic stewardship as a method of ensuring that every patient always receives appropriate antimicrobial drugs, at the right dose, at the right time and for the right duration, in order to cure or prevent infection, while preventing toxicity and the emergence of resistance. Although costs will always be important to patients and healthcare institutions, the focus of antimicrobial stewardship is on the wellbeing of patients and public health.