BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) announced a collaboration with Pfizer Inc. and global charitable foundation Wellcome to better understand the role of diagnostics in advancing antimicrobial stewardship practices around the world.
Building on ongoing efforts to advance the role of diagnostics in tackling the challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), this collaboration will survey existing diagnostic practices to highlight both benefits and gaps in diagnostic testing in AMR stewardship to improve and further advocate for patient care, clinical practice and healthcare economics.
"Diagnostic stewardship — meaning coordinated guidance and interventions to improve appropriate use of microbiological diagnostics to guide therapeutic decisions — promotes appropriate, timely diagnostic testing, including specimen collection and pathogen identification as well as accurate, timely reporting of results to guide patient treatment," said Brooke Story, President of Integrated Diagnostic Solutions for BD. "Research shows us that significant barriers must be overcome to make healthcare workers aware of the importance and positive impact of diagnostics on AMR."
However, diagnostic testing is “an under-utilized resource for optimizing antimicrobial (antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral) treatments and supporting antimicrobial stewardship effort, “BD said.
BD added that “the COVID-19 pandemic has put antimicrobial resistance into sharp focus, with early case studies and surveys of COVID-19 treatment pathways showing a high proportion of antibiotic use despite low risk of secondary bacterial infections in the majority of patients. This early data prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to issue a bulletin warning about the risk of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating the potential for AMR.”
