A review published in World Journal of Emergency Surgery late last year highlights the alarming trend of anoutcometibiotic misuse, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), to name a few. Underlining the importance of preventing HAIs, of which a significant share originates from medical devices such as urinary tract catheters and central venous catheters, seven surgical societies shared a global declaration around the importance of infection prevention and control in surgery.

The declaration aims to raise awareness of the surgeons’ responsibility and how they can play a pivotal role in the prevention and management of healthcare-associated infections in their daily practice, including ten golden rules for optimal antibiotic use in hospital settings and nine principles for correct infection prevention and management across the surgical pathway.

Pankaj Malhotra, Chief Medical Officer at Bactiguard, comments: “A collaborative and multidisciplinary approach is paramount to improve patients’ outcomes and overall healthcare delivery. This is an important declaration, and Bactiguard is seeking an active alliance with this group to raise awareness of how our technology can enhance clinical practices, where our focus is on principal number two – to enhance infection prevention and control. Current Clinical Practice might not be enough. We need to focus on preventive care as a priority. The review also addresses the issue of biofilm formation, which is one of the key mechanisms in antimicrobial resistance, and we need to give more attention to this in the battle against AMR”.

Read the full review under “Documents”