The Department of Microbiology of Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), in association with American Society of Microbiology, organised a continuing medical education (CME) on “Resist, Review and Renew Antibiotics” to address the impact of antibiotic resistance on patient care and increasing cost burden on hospitals.
Medical experts from PIMS, JIPMER and Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Research Institute (IGMC&RI) spoke on various aspects of antibiotic resistance and how it affected patient care.
Misuse of antibiotics to treat minor ailments, viral fevers, throat infections and diarrhoea is considered as the main cause leading to rapid increase in resistant bacteria, they argued.
Dr. Srinivasan from IGMC&RI briefed participants on the current situation of antibiotic resistance in Puducherry.
Dr. Kurien Thomas, Head of Medicine at PIMS stressed the need for a multi-pronged approach. It is necessary to disseminate evidence based guidelines and train the medical fraternity and the public to use antibiotics sparingly in humans and animals, he said.
Improving diagnosis
Mr. Thomas pointed out that improving diagnostic capacity in the hospitals, availability of point of care test and quality assured laboratory system would help in early diagnosis and rational treatment. Ensuring effective immunisation across the country would also go a long way to control infectious disease, he added.
‘Misuse of antibiotics leads to rapid increase in resistant bacteria’
