Today's Perspective
Kristin Wiisanen, PharmD, FAPhA, FCCP, Pharmacy Today editor in chief
According to CDC, antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them. In short, the bugs aren’t killed and they continue to grow.
Pharmacists have historically led the charge in many institutions for antimicrobial stewardship, with an 18% decrease in deaths from antimicrobial resistance from 2012 to 2017. However, COVID-19 has thrown the health care system for a loop.
This month’s Pharmacy Today cover story puts the spotlight on how COVID-19 has quickened antibiotic resistance and a new CDC special report detailing its effects. The CDC report also provides insight into how the long-term impact of COVID-19 is quietly rippling through the health care system to create a new, and often overlooked, pandemic of antimicrobial resistance. At the start of COVID-19, health care priorities had to shift. We saw an increase in antibiotic use, difficulties distinguishing community-acquired pneumonia from COVID-19, and longer hospital stays for sicker patients. From March 2020 to October 2020, nearly 80% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 received an antibiotic. This presents a challenge that we are all now facing together.
This issue of Pharmacy Today also highlights recent FDA drug approvals, explores the use of supplements for pets, and provides answers to tough questions about vaccinating kids against COVID-19. You’ll also find new USPSTF recommendations on vitamin, mineral, and multivitamin supplements; information on the rise of patients purchasing medications via social media; and get your monthly CPE installment on new therapeutic agents marketed in 2021.
As you approach your day, keep in mind that although the rise of antimicrobial resistance is daunting, it also highlights the role of the pharmacist. According to Nikunj Vyas, PharmD, BCPS, currently leading antimicrobial stewardship efforts at Jefferson Health New Jersey, “The antibiotic resistance pandemic [if you will] is another avenue for pharmacists to show their importance.” Explore potential ways to meet these needs within your organization. Pharmacists have played, and will continue to play, an essential role in confronting antimicrobial resistance and other challenges facing the U.S. health care system.
Have a great Today!