The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), describes antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria or other microbes to resist the effects of antibiotic treatment. () So instead of being destroyed by the medications, the bacteria survives and continues to reproduce, resultant in new communicable diseases that even more difficult to treat. Because of this issue the CDC has instituted a campaign entitles, "Campaign to Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance." The campaign focuses on four integrated strategies: preventing infection, diagnosing and treating infection effectively, using antimicrobials wisely, and preventing transmission.() This campaign consists of 12 steps that teach nurses as well as other healthcare providers about antimicrobial resistance and presents plans to advance nursing practice, as well as antimicrobial use. Another campaign developed by the CDC is the Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR). This task force focused on urgent antimicrobial resistance issues and appropriate therapeutic use of antimicrobial drugs in the medical and veterinary communities. Also, prevention of both healthcare- and community-associated drug-resistant infections, and strategies for improving the pipeline of new antimicrobial drugs() Explains in detail the underlying mechanisms of action that underpin the pharmacological action Acquired antimicrobial resistance generally can be ascribed to one of five mechanisms. These are production of drug-inactivating enzymes, modification of an existing target, acquisition of a target by-pass system, reduced cell permeability and drug removal from the cell. (Sefton) Also a bacterium that was once prone to an antibiotic can gain resistance through alt... ... middle of paper ... ...e enforced. Drug dosing and incorparting proper round the clock methods also help prevent resistance. According to Karch, around the clock dosing helps eliminate the peaks and valleys in drug concentration and helps maintain constant therputic levels. Summary Nurses should take a leading role in reducing the impact of disease on patients and influence the expansion of evidence based infection prevention practice. Antimicrobial resistance prevention must remain a huge priority. In times of opposing priorities concerning patient safety, progress has been made in undertaking these bacteria’s and infections. The outlook of a near future without helpful antibiotics should not be dismissed, and all us in positions of influence should encourage and educate the conscientious use of antimicrobials seriously and do what we can to stop the situation from spreading.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are created when mutations in the pathogen's genetic code occurs, changing the protein in the bacteria that the antibiotics normally go after into a shape that the antibiotic can not recognize. The average bacteria divides every twenty minutes, so if a contaminated spot has one single bacteria in the morning, there could be trillions on that same spot at the end of the day. That means that when counting all the possibilities of mutations, the amount of mutated offspring that the bacteria might have formed during those replications could be as high as in the millions. Fortunately though, this does not happen so frequently that it is normally an issue. The amount of non-mutated bacteria vastly outnumbers the mutated ones and many of the mutations occurring in the bacteria usually have either a harmful effect, or not effect at all on its function. That means that the pathogen is still relatively less harmful than it c...
The role of nurses in the prevention of MRSA in the hospitals cannot be overemphasized. The prevalence of MRSA in hospitals calls for awareness and sensitization of all party involved in patient caregiving in the hospital. According to Wilkinson and Treas (2011), nurses take on many roles in the hospital: a caregiver, advocate, communicator, leader, manager counsellor, change agent and an educator. (Wilkinson &Treas. (2011) p.13.) The target of healthy people 2020 is to reduce MRSA and all other hospital acquired infection by 75% in the year 2020. (Healthy people 2020) This cannot be achieved without the maximum support of nurses because nurses have regular one on one contact with patients on daily basis.This paper will take a closer look at the role of a nurse as an educator in the prevention of MRSA in the hospital. One of the nurse’s roles in the prevention of MRSA in hospitals is patient/visitor/staff education.
“The World Health Organization projects that as drug effectiveness decreases and antibiotic resistance increases, public education becomes more and more crucial” (476) Antibiotics were discovered in 1940 and since have been abused and misused. Between bad practices and lack of proper education antibiotic resistance has been allowed to occur. The only way to combat bacterial infections is with strong patient education and following the correct schedule in taking antibiotics.
To get a clear insight of how pathogenic bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, one has to understand first how antibiotics work. Antibiotics are manufactured to interact with a specific target molecule produced by the bacteria. The target molecule performs protoplasm in the bacterium that is the driving cause of cellular growth and survival of the pathogen. Antibiotics hinder the growth and survival of the bacteria so that the bacteria can die. To inhibit the target’s function, an antibiotic must do three things. First, it has to reach the site of the target molecule. Second, the antibiotic has to persist at the site to have its effect. Third, the antibiotic needs to prevent the proper formation of cell walls and stop metabolic processes performed by the bacteria to prevent protein synthesis.
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has presented many problems in our society, including an increased chance of fatality due to infections that could have otherwise been treated with success. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections, but overexposure to these drugs give the bacteria more opportunities to mutate, forming resistant strains. Through natural selection, those few mutated bacteria are able to survive treatments of antibiotics and then pass on their genes to other bacterial cells through lateral gene transfer (Zhaxybayeva, 2011). Once resistance builds in one patient, it is possible for the strain to be transmitted to others through improper hygiene and failure to isolate patients in hospitals.
Prevention of hospital-acquired infections: review of non-pharmacological interventions. Journal of Hospital Infection, 69(3), 204-219. Revised 01/20 Haugen, N., Galura, S., & Ulrich, S. P. (2011). Ulrich & Canale's nursing care planning guides: Prioritization, delegation, and critical thinking. Maryland Heights, Mo. : Saunders/Elsevier.
Resistance first appears in a population of bacteria through conditions that favor its selection. When an antibiotic attacks a group of bacteria, cells that are highly susceptible to the medicine will die. On the other hand, cells that have some resistance from the start or acquire it later may survive. At the same time, when antibiotics attack disease-causing bacteria, they also attack benign bacteria. This process eliminates drug-susceptible bacteria and favors bacteria that are resistant. Two things happen, populations of non-resistant and harmless bacteria are diminished, and because of the reduction of competition from these harmless and/or susceptible bacteria, resistant forms of disease-causing bacteria proliferate. As the resistant forms of the bacteria proliferate, there is more opportunity for genetic or chromosomal mutation (spontaneous DNA mutation (1)) or transformation, that comes about either through a form of microbial sex (1) or through the transference of plasmids, small circles of DNA (1), which allow bacteria to interchange genes with ease. Sometimes genes can also be t...
The evolution of bacterial resistance to antibiotics is inevitable. One might say that it is a part of the evolutionary process of life. Resistance to antibiotics creates a major problem for the treatment of infections and disease, but there are steps that can be taken to reduce the effects. By understanding the history, origin, and functions of antibiotics and bacteria, solutions can be developed. As of today, scientists and doctors are fighting the bacterial resistance to antibiotics by taking steps such as proper consultation before prescribing certain antibiotics, and deeper research about bacteria and antibiotics. There are numbers of short-term fixes that help slow the process of resistance, but a long-term fix is yet to be discovered.
There are many medical professionals who believe that the rise of antibiotic resistance is a result of the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. Dr. Jim Wilde, a paediatric emergency medicine physician at the Medical College of Georgia believes that the medical profession is losing the war against resistance...
...s and measurement to decrease healthcare- associated infections. American Journal Of Infection Control, pp. S19-S25. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2012.02.008.
where nurses work to treat infections in people from different settings. While evaluating and treating patients with infectious diseases, many infection control nurses work on special projects and studies that have a direct impact on the comprehensive care that a facility provides. In response to their findings, the work an infection control nurse compiles and concludes with help their facility be in compliance and up to date with the changing strains of infections. The role of an infection control nurse is to contain an infection and to aide in eradication the infection to prevent an outbreak. The infection control nurse has to identify the pathogen that has caused the infection, identify the current stage of replication, identify the correct treatment, and reevaluate the response to treatment (Smeltzer, 2007). The skills, knowledge and expertise in this field require multifaceted and progressive nurses who love this specialty. The relationship between knowledge and power helps to employ and implement strategies to reduce infection control and improve patient safety (WHO,
The Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Program is an essential force maximizing quality, patient centered care, and safety throughout the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS). The VANTHCS “... is a progressive health care provider in the heart of Texas ... we serve more than 117,000 Veterans and deliver 1.4 million outpatient episodes of care each year to Veterans in 38 Texas counties and two counties in southern Oklahoma” (“VA North Texas,” 2016, para. 1). The purpose of the IPC Program is to guide a facility-wide approach toward identifying, preventing, controlling, and eliminating healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). This approach is facilitated through infection control (IC) practitioner’s role-modeling behaviors of assessing, supporting, guiding, and/or directing healthcare providers (HCPs) in the application of evidence-based practices (EBPs) to prevent HAIs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HAIs are often preventable adverse events that pose a major threat to patient safety (“Centers for Disease,” 2016). As a result, IC practitioners recognize the importance of preparing nurse faculty to engage clinical staff in the application of EBPs to prevent infections.
The most effective way to combat pathogenic bacteria which invade the body is the use of antibiotics. Overexposure to antibiotics can easily lead to resistant strains of bacteria. Resistance is dangerous because bacteria can easily spread from person to person. Simple methods for preventing excessive bacterial spread are often overlooked. Not all preventative measures are even adequate. Doctors and patients often use antibiotics unnecessarily or incorrectly, leading to greater resistance. Antibiotics are used heavily in livestock and this excessive antibiotic use can create resistant bacteria and transfer them to humans. In order to reduce resistant bacteria,
Resistance is affected by a variety of factors which are primarily due to human contribution and the use of antimicrobials.[8, 18, 22, 27] One of these factors is known as poor compliance.
Avoiding infection or, at least, breaking the chain of transmission is vital in any setting, but more so in healthcare environments where infections and vulnerable hosts are moving under the same roof. What needs to be done, then?