Antimicrobial stewardship

You might see slight variations in the definition of antimicrobial stewardship depending on whichever resource you refer to, but the principle should be the same:

Antibiotic stewardship (AS) encompasses all activities intended to improve patient outcomes from infection while minimising negative consequences such as healthcare associated infections, and limiting the development of bacterial resistance, through the optimal diagnosis, drug selection, dosage, de-escalation and duration (the so called 5 “Ds” of antimicrobial prescribing). An AS programme requires surveillance of microbial susceptibility, monitoring of prescribing practice as measured by process indicators and assessment of impact on clinical outcomes.

The “activity” or “negative consequences” may be different depending on your organisation and the level of antimicrobial stewardship practiced.

Have a look at the resources listed below in “see also” and see if they help your understanding of what stewardship means to you.