Antimicrobial stewardship programs remain a center of attention in healthcare, particularly in battling infections. The critical question they seek to answer is: what antibiotic, dose, and treatment duration are most appropriate for a given patient’s infection? This relies on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST), which indicates the susceptibility of the pathogen causing the infection.
AST is a critical diagnostic tool that is a necessity rather than an optional best practice. It advises healthcare professionals if a pathogen is resistant, intermediate, or susceptible to a drug, guiding treatment choices. Prescribing without proper AST information can result in assumptions, leading to inefficient or ineffective treatment.
AST was once considered best practice, but it is now an integral part of any hospital’s operations, fostering system-wide accountability and guiding clinical decisions. According to Kings Research, the global AST market was projected to grow from USD 5.95 billion in 2025 to USD 8.74 billion by 2032.
However, even with the increased adoption of stewardship programs, a stark difference exists between implementing such programs and effectively executing them. For instance, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that in 2024 only 16% of U.S. hospitals had successfully implemented all six Core Element Priorities for antibiotic stewardship.
Ideal stewardship goes beyond just having a program in place; it also extends to the timely reception of accurate antibiotic data. Manual or hybrid approach hospitals often face difficulty delivering accurate data required for prescribing the right antibiotics, thus affecting the execution of the program.
Recognizing the importance of stewardship, regulatory bodies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have mandated the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs. Hospitals, nursing homes, and care facilities must demonstrate appropriate prescribing, track resistance patterns, and take corrective actions based on data generated by AST.
With advancements in technology, automated AST systems have emerged as superior tools in providing fast, accurate data. These automated systems significantly reduce error rates in identifying pathogens and provide results within a short time frame – as few as six hours, compared to the previous 36 to 48 hours with traditional systems.
The automation facilitates enhanced connectivity between clinical tools and laboratory results, promoting real-time resistance tracking and the automatic construction of antibiograms. This results in confidence in therapy decisions, informed by current and accurate diagnostic information rather than outdated data.
Improved stewardship programs using diagnostic test results lead to better clinical outcomes and satisfy regulatory requirements. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reveals that effectively run stewardship programs can decrease improper antimicrobial use rates by 20%, leading to a reduction in resistance development, shortened hospital durations, lower treatment costs, and fewer adverse drug events.
As regulatory environments globally evolve, hospitals and other healthcare facilities need to demonstrate not only the existence of these stewardship programs but also their effectiveness in operation. The key to success lies in investing in fast, reliable, and interconnected AST platforms, as these result in improved patient outcomes due to more accurate decision-making.
Additionally, the concept of antimicrobial stewardship is gaining acceptance globally, with the World Health Organization listing it as a key component of national action plans against antimicrobial resistance. As regions, including India, adopt stewardship guidelines similar to U.S. regulations, AST’s role and importance only seem set to grow.
Source: https://www.kingsresearch.com/blog/antimicrobial-stewardship-compliance