Dr. Biljana Carevic, a pioneering hospital epidemiologist, has dedicated her career to infection control and antibiotic stewardship. In this interview, Biljana discusses her work, the challenges of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Serbia versus Norway, and her ongoing efforts with the Global Point Prevalence Survey.
In this interview, Mihaela Lupse, professor in infectious diseases and lead of the Romanian drive-AMS network, sheds light on the situation in her country. She elaborates on the ongoing efforts in fighting AMR and establishing the project in Romania.
In this interview, Dr. Raquel Duro, member of the Portuguese drive-AMS team, elaborates on her role within the project, the AMS interventions in her hospital and how AMR has affected patients.
The second part of the course dedicated to antimicrobial stewardship, integrated into the European drive-AMS project, recently took place.
It’s the end of our drive-AMS in-country trainings! From 15 until 18 May, the final course took place in Birštonas, Lithuania, organised by dr. Rolanda Valinteliene from the Institute of Hygiene in Vilnius and her team. The four days included presentations and workshops providing deeper insights into antimicrobial stewardship: basic requirements, objectives, prescribing patterns in Europe, quantity & quality of antimicrobial use, determinants & barriers, behavioural change and more.
Dr. Francisco Almeida from the Infection Prevention and Control and Antimicrobial Resistance Unit (UPCIRA) of São João Hospital, in Porto, Portugal, was awarded with the first prize of the AMS Certificate Programme 2022-2024 from ESCMID. He received the award for a project within the scope of drive-AMS, an antimicrobial stewardship project, with European funding, coordinated in Portugal by São João Hospital and involving 7 more national health units.
Last Friday, the annual Global-PPS meeting in collaboration with bioMérieux took place on the occasion of ESCMID Global 2024, formerly known as ECCMID. Over 100 participants attended the hybrid meeting to learn more about the project’s activities, strategies and results. It was a special edition as Global-PPS also celebrated its 10 year anniversary!
From 18 to 21 March, the Romanian drive-AMS team reached a critical milestone as it organized its own in-country training course. Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Mihaele Lupse, representatives from 8 Romanian hospitals assembled in Cluj for four days of presentations and discussions on all aspects of effective stewardship programs to optimize antibiotic use.
The European drive-AMS project, which São João leads in Portugal, was selected to integrate the 1st phase of the Sustainable Health Pact (PaSSus) 2030, within the scope of the National Health Plan 2030 (PNS), recently launched and promoted by the portuguese General Directorate for the Health (DGS).
A recent study compared antimicrobial prescribing patterns in paediatric patients from three hospitals in Sanandaj, Western Iran, with paediatric patients from hospitals in Southeast Asia and Europe. Standardised 2019 Global-PPS data were used.