Educate clients to complete the full course of antibiotics
β‘οΈ Clients should take antibiotics exactly as prescribed and follow the prescribed duration rather than independently stopping, skipping, or saving doses.
β‘οΈ Inappropriate antibiotic use can expose bacteria to antimicrobial drugs without achieving the intended therapeutic effect.
β‘οΈ Surviving bacteria may possess or acquire characteristics that allow them to withstand subsequent antimicrobial exposure.
β‘οΈ Following the prescribed regimen supports effective treatment while reducing opportunities for selection of resistant organisms.
β‘οΈ Clients should never save leftover antibiotics for a future illness or share prescribed antibiotics with another person.
β‘οΈ Antibiotic therapy should also be reassessed when appropriate because some infections may require modification or discontinuation based on diagnostic findings.
β‘οΈ Client education promotes antimicrobial stewardship by encouraging responsible medication use.
β‘οΈ Appropriate adherence to the prescribed antibiotic regimen therefore contributes to reducing antimicrobial resistance.
Properly dispose of unused or expired antibiotics
β‘οΈ Proper disposal prevents unused antibiotics from being taken later without an appropriate diagnosis or prescription.
β‘οΈ Leftover antibiotics may encourage self-treatment using the wrong medication, dose, or duration.
β‘οΈ Inappropriate antibiotic exposure contributes to selective pressure that promotes the survival of resistant bacteria.
β‘οΈ Proper disposal also decreases the likelihood that antibiotics will be shared with family members or other individuals.
β‘οΈ Expired medications should not be retained for future infections because their appropriate use cannot be assured.
β‘οΈ Medication take-back programs or other locally approved disposal methods should be used when available.
β‘οΈ Responsible disposal is therefore part of broader antimicrobial stewardship efforts.
β‘οΈ Removing unnecessary antibiotics from households helps decrease opportunities for inappropriate antimicrobial use.
Prescribe narrow-spectrum antibiotics where possible
β‘οΈ Narrow-spectrum antibiotics target a more limited range of microorganisms than broad-spectrum antibiotics.
β‘οΈ Using the narrowest effective antimicrobial reduces unnecessary exposure of normal bacterial flora to antibiotic pressure.
β‘οΈ Excessive broad-spectrum antibiotic use can select for resistant organisms across multiple bacterial populations.
β‘οΈ Culture and susceptibility findings can help clinicians select a more targeted antimicrobial when appropriate.
β‘οΈ Targeted therapy can effectively treat the causative organism while reducing unnecessary ecological disruption.
β‘οΈ Narrow-spectrum therapy is therefore an important component of antimicrobial stewardship.
β‘οΈ Selection must still consider the infection site, likely organism, client condition, and susceptibility information.
β‘οΈ Prescribing the narrowest effective agent whenever clinically appropriate helps limit development and spread of resistance.
Minimize antibiotic use in livestock farming
β‘οΈ Extensive antimicrobial use in food-producing animals can create selection pressure that favors resistant bacteria.
β‘οΈ Resistant organisms or resistance genes can potentially spread through food systems, animals, humans, and the environment.
β‘οΈ Avoiding unnecessary antimicrobial use in agriculture therefore contributes to controlling resistance beyond human healthcare settings.
β‘οΈ Antibiotics should be used responsibly in animals when clinically indicated rather than unnecessarily for inappropriate purposes.
β‘οΈ Coordinated antimicrobial stewardship recognizes the connection among human, animal, and environmental health.
β‘οΈ This interconnected approach is commonly described through the One Health framework.
β‘οΈ Reducing unnecessary agricultural antimicrobial exposure decreases opportunities for resistant organisms to emerge and proliferate.
β‘οΈ Minimizing inappropriate antibiotic use in livestock therefore contributes to reducing antimicrobial resistance.