title: Antimicrobial stewardship in patients with cancer.
abstract: Consensus guidelines recommend antimicrobial stewardship in all hospitals with the following goals in mind: appropriate and judicious use of antimicrobial agents leading to increased drug safety, reduced antimicrobial utilization, reduction in the development and selection of resistant organisms, cost containment, and improved patient outcomes. Patients with cancer, especially those with hematologic malignancies and neutropenia, develop serious infections often and receive antimicrobial therapy frequently. Consequently, there is considerable opportunity to practice antimicrobial stewardship in this population. Several antimicrobial stewardship strategies such as antimicrobial restriction, cycling, prospective audit and feedback, and de-escalation have been evaluated in patients with cancer. The primary focus has been on the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections in febrile neutropenic patients. These efforts should be expanded to include fungal, viral, and other infections.
authors: Department of Pharmacy Clinical Programs, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
authors: Frank P
authors: FP
authors: Tverdek
authors: Kenneth V
authors: KV
authors: Rolston
authors: Roy F
authors: RF
authors: Chemaly
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents