ICMR ISSUES NEW GUIDELINES FOR ANTIMICROBIAL TREATMENT

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday released a revised set of guidelines for the antimicrobial treatment in India.

Senior scientists at ICMR said on Saturday that the latest guidelines, titled ‘Treatment Guidelines for Antimicrobial Use in Common Syndromes’ is a revised document of the original 2017 National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance (NAPAMR).

The second edition of this was released in 2019 which had updated information on guidelines for the treatment of bone and joint infections, skin and soft tissue and central nervous system infections with details on their dosing, route of administration and duration of therapy.

The latest document also aims to address AMR, which results in over two million infections every year, leading to at least 23,000 deaths, ICMR data shows.

“The strategic objectives of NAP-AMR are aligned with the global action plan. At the same time, it is based on national needs and priorities,” an ICMR spokesperson said.

Scientists also said that the latest document was particularly important in the post-covid-19 scenario because of an unchecked use of antimicrobials. Experts warned that Covid-19 showed a drastic increase in resistance to several important antibiotics and antifungals.

A study published by the ICMR this year also found that resistance to carbapenems — drugs administered to treat common infections such as pneumonia in ICU (intensive care unit) settings — increased in 2021, limiting the availability of treatment options. According to the scientists, antimicrobial resistance arises naturally through the process of evolution, but drug misuse can accelerate the process.