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Hospital-acquired infections in Greece: a real, but manageable problem

Written on . Posted in 2016

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are infections that are acquired by patients during their stay in a hospital or health care facility. Based on recent data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), approximately 6% of hospitalized patients in Europe develop HAIs. With the total number of patients with HAIs in Europe rising to 3.2 million for the year 2011-2012, it is clear that this is a major problem for public health. All hospitalized patients are potentially in risk of HAI, but the risk is particularly high in intensive care units (ICUs) where, according to European data, about 1 in 5 patients exhibits HAI. The majority of these infections is caused by bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, as a result of the excessive use of antibiotics.
ECDC data shows that about 1 in 10 hospitalized patients (~9%) in Greece develops HAI, placing it among the European countries with the highest rate of HAI occurrence. The occurrence rate of HAIs is dramatically higher in ICUs for adults and newborns, reaching 50% and 30% respectively. Unfortunately, Greece ranks among the top countries in Europe in HAIs that are caused by resistant germs and first in the consumption of antibiotics in hospitals (54.7%).

The flu season starts

Written on . Posted in 2016

Winter is coming, and so is flu. It’s a cliché but like all clichés it is true and should not be overlooked or underestimated. Up to 50 million people a year are estimated to have symptomatic influenza in EU/EEA countries and between 15 000 – 70 000 are estimated to die from influenza associated causes.

WHO’s Global Guidelines for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infections are published

Written on . Posted in 2016

The World Health Organization, recently published its Global Guidelines for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infections, which include a list of recommendations prepared by top leading experts and based on a review of the latest evidence in the area. The recommendations were designed to address the burden of healthcare-associated infections on healthcare systems and on patients undergoing surgery.

14-20 November: World Antibiotic Awareness Week

Written on . Posted in 2016

This year the World Antibiotic Awareness Week will held from 14-20 November 2016- a global initiative to improve understanding of the antimicrobial resistance problem and change the way antibiotics are used. Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria change and become resistant to the antibiotics used to treat the infections they cause.

How to Stop Overprescribing Antibiotics

Written on . Posted in 2016

Gray Matter
By CRAIG R. FOX , JEFFREY A. LINDER and JASON N. DOCTOR

ANTIBIOTICS are an indispensable weapon in every physician’s arsenal, but when prescribed unnecessarily for nonbacterial infections like the common cold, as they too often are, they provide no benefit and create problems. They wipe out healthy bacteria and can cause side effects like yeast infections and allergic reactions. Worse still, they contribute to the rise of “superbugs” that resist antibiotic treatment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about half of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in the United States are unnecessary. It also estimates that each year as many as two million Americans suffer from antibiotic-resistant illnesses, and 23,000 die as a result.