title: [Antibiotic resistance].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  After six decades of antibiotic use, the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is increasing, and organisms resistant to almost all antibiotics have been identified.
  It is important to understand why antibiotic resistance develops, in order to design strategies for its prevention. Factors that promote antibiotic resistance in community and hospital settings are: antibiotic selective pressure, prolonged antibiotic treatment, inadequate doses, prior use of a less effective drug of the same antibiotic class, protected sites or foreign bodies, and poor infection control practice. The best available ways to decrease and control antibiotic resistance are: rational use of antibiotics (e.g. appropriate selection of drug, dose, duration of treatment), good infection control procedures (hygienic practice and isolation), as well as local, national and global surveillance networks for monitoring dissemination of antimicrobial resistance and detection of new resistance mechanisms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Clinical guidelines, direct education, and regular reports on antibiograms may contribute to more prudent use of antibiotics. Overall, the problem of antibiotic resistance is global. However, measures need to be taken at an individual, institutional, and ultimately at national healthcare level.
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vucković
authors.forename: Milica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prostran
authors.forename: Cedomir
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vucetić
authors.forename: Borislav
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dulić
authors.forename: Zoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Todorović
authors.forename: Zorica
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Nesić
authors.forename: Radan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stojanović
mesh_terms: D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology