antifungal stewardship

Enhancing antifungal stewardship: The educational and healthcare benefits of involving pharmacy students in audits

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This study examined how pharmacy students could help improve the use of fluconazole, a common antifungal medication, in hospitals. Researchers found that nearly one-third of fluconazole prescriptions were not being used appropriately. By having pharmacy students participate in reviewing prescriptions under expert supervision, hospitals could better identify problems and educate future pharmacists, while the students gained valuable real-world experience in patient care.

Antifungal stewardship in the UK: where are we now?

mycolabadmin

Fungal infections are becoming more common and dangerous because some fungi are developing resistance to antifungal medicines. UK hospitals struggle to manage these infections due to lack of funding, staffing, and limited access to fungal testing services. The paper recommends creating regional fungal expertise centers and setting national standards to improve how antifungal medications are used and monitored across the country.

Antifungal Agents in the 21st Century: Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

mycolabadmin

This review examines how doctors treat serious fungal infections and the growing problem of fungi becoming resistant to medications. The authors discuss different antifungal drugs, how they work, and why some fungi are becoming harder to treat. They emphasize that controlling fungal resistance requires coordinated efforts across hospitals, farms, and communities, especially since some agricultural pesticides are creating resistant strains that spread to sick patients.

A Pragmatic Strategy for Improving Diagnosis of Invasive Candidiasis in UK and Ireland ICUs

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Diagnosing invasive candidiasis (a serious fungal infection in ICU patients) is challenging because current blood culture tests are slow and insensitive. This paper presents a practical five-step diagnostic guide for UK and Ireland hospitals that combines risk assessment, biomarker tests, and rapid identification methods to diagnose the infection faster and more accurately. Using this strategy helps doctors avoid unnecessary antifungal drugs while ensuring seriously ill patients receive appropriate treatment quickly, ultimately improving survival rates.

Enhancing antifungal stewardship: The educational and healthcare benefits of involving pharmacy students in audits

mycolabadmin

This study involved pharmacy students in reviewing fluconazole prescriptions at two Sydney hospitals to improve antifungal medication use. The researchers found that many fluconazole prescriptions were not being used appropriately, and some patients had dangerous drug interactions. The pharmacy students gained valuable real-world experience while helping the hospitals improve their antifungal stewardship practices.

Reevaluating the Value of (1,3)-β-D-Glucan for the Diagnosis of Intra-Abdominal Candidiasis in Critically Ill Patients: Current Evidence and Future Directions

mycolabadmin

This review examines how a fungal biomarker called beta-D-glucan (BDG) can help doctors diagnose yeast infections in the abdomens of critically ill patients. While BDG tests in the blood are available, they give many false positives. Testing BDG directly in fluid from the abdomen appears more accurate, especially when combined with blood tests. However, more research is needed before hospitals widely adopt this approach in daily practice.

Enhancing antifungal stewardship: The educational and healthcare benefits of involving pharmacy students in audits

mycolabadmin

Researchers studied how involving pharmacy students in reviewing fluconazole (an antifungal medication) prescriptions could help hospitals improve their antifungal medication use and provide valuable training. Out of 145 prescriptions audited, about two-thirds were appropriate while one-third had issues like unnecessary use or drug interactions. Both the students and hospitals benefited significantly, with students gaining practical clinical experience while hospitals identified prescribing problems that could be improved.

Antifungal stewardship in the UK: where are we now?

mycolabadmin

This paper examines how well the UK is currently managing antifungal stewardship—the appropriate use of antifungal medications to treat serious fungal infections while preventing resistance. Experts found that since 2017, progress has been limited due to lack of funding and staff expertise, difficulties accessing timely fungal diagnostic tests, and disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel recommends creating regional mycology networks and diagnostic centres, establishing national standards for antifungal practices, and improving education about fungal infections to better prepare the UK for rising fungal disease threats.

Quality improvement project to reduce beta-D-glucan turnaround times in an NHS pathology network

mycolabadmin

Hospitals were taking too long to get results for a fungal blood test (beta-D-glucan) that helps doctors decide whether patients with serious infections need antifungal medicines. A UK hospital pathology network improved this by bringing the test in-house instead of sending samples to a distant reference laboratory. After implementing the new system, they cut the average wait time from over 11 days to just 2.5 days while also saving money, allowing doctors to make faster treatment decisions for critically ill patients.

Research Topic: antifungal stewardship