www.ijbcp.com International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology | August 2018 | Vol 7 | Issue 8 Page 1444 IJBCP International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology Print ISSN: 2319-2003 | Online ISSN: 2279-0780 Review Article Antimicrobial stewardship: need of the hour Razi Ahmad*, Sana Rehman INTRODUCTION Antimicrobial stewardship refers to a set of coordinated strategies to improve the use of antimicrobial medications by promoting the selection of the optimal antimicrobial drug regimen, dose, duration of therapy, and route of administration with the goal of enhancing patient health outcomes, reducing resistance to antibiotics, and decreasing unnecessary costs. 1 The meaning of the term “antimicrobial stewardship” has evolved over the past decade. It was recently defined as a “coherent set of actions” that promote the responsible use of antimicrobials. The meaning of “responsible use” of antimicrobials is more difficult to define but generally refers to the goals of preventing or reducing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and preserving the effectiveness of therapies for bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. Stewardship programmes aim to restrict inappropriate use of antibiotics, optimize selection, dose, route and duration of treatment for best outcomes, minimizing detrimental adverse events, excessive costs and emergence of resistance. Antimicrobial stewardship program (AMSP) is a hospital based program dedicated to improving antibiotic use, commonly referred to as AMSP have been found helpful in improving the quality of patient care and safety through increased infection cure rates, reducing treatment failures, and increasing the frequency of correct prescribing for therapy and prophylaxis but Antimicrobial stewardship programs (AMSPs) or strategies can apply to individual or population health, humans or animals, and ABSTRACT Efforts to tackle the global threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) have recently taken shape in a number of potentially far-reaching collaborative initiatives. When microbes become resistant to medicines, the options for treating the diseases they cause are reduced. This resistance to antimicrobial medicines is happening in all parts of the world for a broad range of microorganisms with an increasing prevalence that threatens human and animal health. The direct consequences of infection with resistant microorganisms can be severe, including longer illnesses, increased mortality, prolonged hospital stay, loss of protection for patients undergoing operations and other medical procedures, and increased costs. Antimicrobial resistance affects all areas of health, involves many sectors and has an impact on the whole of society. To overcome the threat of antimicrobial resistance, a three-pillar approach has been advocated i.e. Optimize the use of existing antimicrobial agents, prevent the transmission of drug-resistant organisms through infection control and Improve environmental decontamination. Antimicrobial stewardship [AMSP] is one of the key strategies to overcome resistance. It is an inter-professional effort, across the continuum of care, involves timely and optimal selection, dose and duration of an antimicrobial for the best clinical outcome for the treatment or prevention of infection with minimal toxicity to the patient and minimal impact on resistance and other ecological adverse events. Keywords: Antimicrobial stewardship programme, Antimicrobial resistance, Antimicrobial DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2319-2003.ijbcp20183012 Department of Pharmacology, HIMSR, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India Received: 10 June 2018 Accepted: 03 July 2018 *Correspondence to: Dr. Razi Ahmad, Email: rahmad50@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open- access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non- Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non- commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.