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- Antibiotic resistant bacteria have been a threat for many years, especially in hospitals.
- A CDC study found that these infections increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Drug resistance poses a threat to modern healthcare, especially vulnerable hospitalized COVID patients.
The overuse of antibiotics has led to an increase in drug resistant bacteria over time. These “superbugs” pose a particularly serious threat in hospitals, where an antibiotic-resistant germ like MRSA could leave an already sick patient with no treatment options.
According to a recent study by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the increase in these infections was exacerbated by COVID-19, with hospitals overflowing with critically ill coronavirus patients in 2020.
Superbugs were a matter of concern in the medical community long before COVID-19 was in our vocabulary, Helen Boucher, infectious disease physician and acting dean of Tufts University School of Medicine told Insider.
But the dual threat of coronavirus and drug resistance raises the stakes and increases the risk of death for COVID-19 patients.
“This is not a new problem in our country or in the world,” said Boucher. “It’s a growing problem, and many of us are calling it a silent pandemic, because it’s still very much present, despite our very appropriate focus on COVID.”
Why drug resistance is such a threat
The CDC tracks nosocomial infections with a ratio of expected infections to actual infections, or the standardized infection ratio. This measure increased for most nosocomial infections, including drug-resistant skin and blood infections, between late 2019 and late 2020.
When a patient becomes ill with a bacterial infection, the doctor’s first step is usually to prescribe antibiotics. Even then, further infection can cause problems for patients who are already ill; in one study, 48% of COVID patients with secondary bacterial infections died. For patients who had multiple bacterial infections in addition to COVID, 75% died.
If the secondary infection is resistant to more than one drug, the patient’s chances of survival are even lower.
For example, MRSA is a strain of the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria that cannot be killed by several commonly available antibiotics. Some other antibiotics can treat the infection, especially if it’s just a superficial cut in the skin.
But the pace of
antibiotic resistance
accelerates. It only takes about a year on average for bacteria to become resistant to treatment, whereas it took 21 years to evolve in the 1960s.
We have the tools to fight superbugs before it’s too late, Boucher explained. Good hospital hygiene, infectious disease surveillance, and good antibiotic management – prescribing the right drug and the right dosage to avoid unnecessary drug overuse – can minimize the threat.
“If we don’t do the things that we know will help reduce antibiotic resistance, the health care we all take for granted today – things like simple surgeries, cesarean sections, chemotherapy for the patient. cancer – all of these things will be in danger. , said Boucher.
Healthcare workers are key to infection prevention – and they’re exhausted
Infection prevention measures, such as frequent hand washing and careful placement of catheters, can help reduce the risk of hospital acquired illnesses. These protocols must be encouraged at the national level, Boucher said.
However, with doctors and nurses running out of steam, it’s not about individual compliance. Hospitals across the country have been facing staff shortages for months as many nurses quit due to burnout at the height of the pandemic.
“We need a healthcare workforce to be able to achieve all of these goals,” said Boucher. “We need infection prevention practitioners – they’re often nurses… We need infectious disease physicians like me, and we have a shortage. “
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