Puducherry : CME organised on Antibiotic resistence

Misuse of antibiotics leads to rapid increase in resistant bacteria’

Puducherry: Resistance to antibiotic treatments among patients in India is catching the attention of the medical fraternity and a number of colleges introducing antibiotic awareness by incorporating it in their 3^rd semester syllabi and clinical interaction stages of MBBS study. In continuation towards this effort, the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Department of Microbiology , in collaboration with American Society of Microbiology, organized a continuing medical education (CME) on “Resist, Review and Renew Antibiotics” to create better understanding of the impact of antibiotic resistance on patient care and increasing cost burden on hospitals.

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Expert medical representations were made on various aspects of antibiotic resistance and how it affected patient care by Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Research Institute(IGMCRI), Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) and Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences.

Arguing about the reasons leading to the rapid increase of resistant bacteria, all the speakers cited the cause to be misuse of antibiotics to treat minor ailments such as viral fevers, throat infections and diarrhea.

Dr. Kurien Thomas, Head of Medicine, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences stressed upon the need to use a multi pronged approach and evidence based guidelines to train both the medical fraternity and the public on the sparing use of antibiotics in both humans as well as the animal species.

Dr. Thomas also said that improvement of diagnostic capacities in hospitals, quality assured laboratory systems and availability of point of care test would help in both early identification of disease and rational treatment.Effective and timely immunization was cited by him as another effective means of controlling infectious disease.

Dr. Srinivasan from IGMCRI briefed participants on the current situation in Puducherry of antibiotic resistance .