title: Can better prescribing turn the tide of resistance?
abstract: In the wake of concerns about the level of antibiotic resistance, governments worldwide are pressing for reduced antibiotic use, hoping thereby to reverse resistance trends. Is success likely? The evidence is mixed, and expectations should be tempered by the growing realization that many resistant bacteria are biologically fit, making them difficult to displace. If resistance is unlikely to be reduced significantly by changing prescription practices, how can clinicians outpace increased resistance, particularly when much of 'big pharma' is abandoning antibiotic development?
authors.affiliation: Antibiotic Resistance Monitoring & Reference Laboratory, Specialist & Reference Microbiology Division, Health Protection Agency, London NW9 5HT, UK. david.livermore@hpa.org.uk
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Livermore
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents