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Stewardship / Resistance Scan for Jul 22, 2022
McDonald's antibiotic shift;
Rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test
Filed Under:
Antimicrobial Stewardship;
Diagnostics
Groups say McDonald's is 'backtracking' on antibiotic commitment
A coalition of public interest, animal welfare, and environmental groups is criticizing McDonald's for backing away from a commitment to reduce the use of medically important antibiotics in its beef supply chain.
In a statement released yesterday, the Antibiotics Off the Menu coalition noted that the company's updated antibiotic policy for beef and dairy beef moves away from setting any concrete targets for the reduction of medically important antibiotics by suppliers in the 10 countries (Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, United Kingdom, Canada, United States, and Brazil) that supply most of its beef. In December 2018, McDonald's pledged that it would establish antibiotic reduction targets for beef suppliers in those countries by the end of 2020—a pledge it has yet to meet.
The company now says that, after conducting pilot tests in those countries, it will collaborate with industry leaders, academics, suppliers, and experts to establish market-appropriate targets for responsible use of medically important antibiotics.
"McDonald's showed leadership in 2018 with a commitment to reduce antibiotics across its massive beef supply chain," the group said. "Disappointingly, it's clear that the company is backtracking on its commitment. By switching from targets for 'reducing use' to targets for 'responsible use,' McDonald's stopped leading and began following, because their latest approach leaves ample room for business as usual practices to continue."
McDonald's says its focus is on refining antibiotic selection and administration, reducing non-therapeutic antibiotic use, and, when possible, replacing antibiotics with "long-term solutions to proactively prevent disease and protect animal health and welfare."
Jul 21 Antibiotics Off the Menu statement
Rapid susceptibility test shortens time to oral antibiotics, hospital stay
A randomized clinical trial found that a rapid phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility test for patients with gram-negative bloodstream infections decreased the time to oral antibiotics and the length of hospitalization, researchers reported today in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.
In the trial, which was conducted at two medical centers in Portland, Oregon, investigators randomly assigned positive blood cultures from 247 patients who had gram-negative bloodstream infections to undergo a rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test (rAST) or a conventional AST (cAST). The primary outcome was time to narrowest effective antibiotic therapy, and secondary outcomes included time to susceptibility results, time to oral therapy, and length of stay (LOS) in the hospital.
Among the 205 patients included in the analysis, time to susceptibility results was 23 hours shorter in the rAST group than in the cAST group (39 hours vs 62 hours), but the median time to the narrowest effective antibiotic therapy was not significantly different between the two groups (64 hours [rAST] vs 73 hours [cAST]), except in a subgroup analysis that excluded patients who were already on the narrowest therapy. But significant decreases were observed in the time to oral therapy (91 hours [rAST] vs 126 hours [cAST]) and median LOS (5 days [rAST] vs 7 days [cAST]). The investigators say the reduction in LOS resulted in an approximate $1.2 million cost-avoidance in the rAST group.
The study authors conclude that faster AST reporting, particularly in the context of an antimicrobial stewardship program, has the potential to facilitate early transitions to oral therapy and early discharge.
Jul 22 Open Forum Infect Dis abstract
Stewardship / Resistance Scan for Jul 22, 2022
McDonald's antibiotic shift;
Rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test
Filed Under:
Antimicrobial Stewardship;
Diagnostics
Groups say McDonald's is 'backtracking' on antibiotic commitment
A coalition of public interest, animal welfare, and environmental groups is criticizing McDonald's for backing away from a commitment to reduce the use of medically important antibiotics in its beef supply chain.
In a statement released yesterday, the Antibiotics Off the Menu coalition noted that the company's updated antibiotic policy for beef and dairy beef moves away from setting any concrete targets for the reduction of medically important antibiotics by suppliers in the 10 countries (Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, United Kingdom, Canada, United States, and Brazil) that supply most of its beef. In December 2018, McDonald's pledged that it would establish antibiotic reduction targets for beef suppliers in those countries by the end of 2020—a pledge it has yet to meet.
The company now says that, after conducting pilot tests in those countries, it will collaborate with industry leaders, academics, suppliers, and experts to establish market-appropriate targets for responsible use of medically important antibiotics.
"McDonald's showed leadership in 2018 with a commitment to reduce antibiotics across its massive beef supply chain," the group said. "Disappointingly, it's clear that the company is backtracking on its commitment. By switching from targets for 'reducing use' to targets for 'responsible use,' McDonald's stopped leading and began following, because their latest approach leaves ample room for business as usual practices to continue."
McDonald's says its focus is on refining antibiotic selection and administration, reducing non-therapeutic antibiotic use, and, when possible, replacing antibiotics with "long-term solutions to proactively prevent disease and protect animal health and welfare."
Jul 21 Antibiotics Off the Menu statement
Rapid susceptibility test shortens time to oral antibiotics, hospital stay
A randomized clinical trial found that a rapid phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility test for patients with gram-negative bloodstream infections decreased the time to oral antibiotics and the length of hospitalization, researchers reported today in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.
In the trial, which was conducted at two medical centers in Portland, Oregon, investigators randomly assigned positive blood cultures from 247 patients who had gram-negative bloodstream infections to undergo a rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test (rAST) or a conventional AST (cAST). The primary outcome was time to narrowest effective antibiotic therapy, and secondary outcomes included time to susceptibility results, time to oral therapy, and length of stay (LOS) in the hospital.
Among the 205 patients included in the analysis, time to susceptibility results was 23 hours shorter in the rAST group than in the cAST group (39 hours vs 62 hours), but the median time to the narrowest effective antibiotic therapy was not significantly different between the two groups (64 hours [rAST] vs 73 hours [cAST]), except in a subgroup analysis that excluded patients who were already on the narrowest therapy. But significant decreases were observed in the time to oral therapy (91 hours [rAST] vs 126 hours [cAST]) and median LOS (5 days [rAST] vs 7 days [cAST]). The investigators say the reduction in LOS resulted in an approximate $1.2 million cost-avoidance in the rAST group.
The study authors conclude that faster AST reporting, particularly in the context of an antimicrobial stewardship program, has the potential to facilitate early transitions to oral therapy and early discharge.
Jul 22 Open Forum Infect Dis abstract