Experts discuss ways to counter antibiotic misuse

Chandigarh: The annual national workshop on clinical pharmacology being held at PGI entered the second day on Tuesday. Experts discussed the problem of antibiotic misuse and ways to control the menace. The symposium, "role of clinical pharmacologist in antimicrobial stewardship", was sponsored by the National Academy of Medical Sciences.
Dr Pallab Ray of the PGI introduced delegates to the evolutionary concepts behind emergence of drug resistance.Dr Nusrat Shafiq, convener, antimicrobial stewardship committee, PGI, elaborated on the role of clinical pharmacologists in promoting rational use of antimicrobials.
Dr Navneet Sharma, professor of medicine, PGI highlighted the role of clinicians and stressed the need for inter-departmental collaboration for the success of the antibiotic stewardship programme. Dr Vikas Gautam, additional professor from the microbiology department listed ways to develop research projects to improve antimicrobial use practices in hospitals.
This was followed by a lecture from Dr Arshiya Zaheer, head, medical affairs, Pfizer, who discussed her experience, perspective and role of the pharmaceutical industry in combating antimicrobial resistance.
Dr Ankur Gupta discussed how to optimise dose regimes for antimicrobials. This was followed by a session on use of tools for evidence-based medicine for judicious use of antimicrobials.