Indian study across 20 hospitals finds Gram-negative infections raise mortality
A new study across 20 Indian hospitals found that researchers identified 26,213 patients with Gram-negative bacterial infections among 159,336 hospitalized patients.
Out of 159,336 hospitalized patients, those with certain tough-to-treat bacterial infections faced up to a 43% higher risk of dying.
Some bloodstream infections from these resistant bacteria had a mortality rate as high as 51%, and treatment costs were also much steeper.
Children face greater AMR risk
Children, especially those who are already sick, are at even greater risk from antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Dr. Aparna Chakravarty, Senior Consultant and Professor, Paediatric Infectious Disease, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, pointed out that using antibiotics when they aren't needed helps create drug-resistant bugs, and antibiotics don't work on viruses anyway.
Experts say we need to use antibiotics carefully and catch infections early to keep AMR from undoing years of medical progress.