LI, low-income countries; LMIC, low- and middle-income countries; HMI, high- and middle-income countries; HIC, high-income countries.
Resource web link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59D80QrStPU (Full classification scheme available at: http://bsac.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Educational-resource-review-classification-scheme.pdf).
WHO region and country (World Bank): European Region, UK (HIC).
Peer review commentary
This is a lovely podcast, it’s easy to listen to and it gives a good overview of what antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is and in particular how it’s carried out in Scotland. Most of the work the guest speaker, Dr Sneddon, mentions can be translated and used to help implement and/or improve AMS in different settings worldwide.
It’s free and on YouTube so easy to access worldwide, and you are able to listen again or forward it to colleagues who may also be interested. Dr Sneddon has many years of experience in the area and mentions how AMS in Scotland is carried out.
A limitation is that it’s an overview, so not ideal if you want details, however, she mentions several resources that are freely available, e.g. the Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group (SAPG) website. There were no obvious biases or errors.
Dr Sneddon gives us a taste of what AMS is about and makes you want to look deeper into many of the topics that she covers. She talks about a broad range of topics from national calculators (MHRA approved) for gentamicin and vancomycin dosing to introducing toolkits and guidelines to facilitate AMS and reduce antimicrobial resistance in Scotland. It is an interesting insight into the many opportunities pharmacists and other clinicians have in tackling AMS. Dr Sneddon talks about challenges faced, such lack of technology and data gathering tools, and difficulties faced when trying to launch guidelines during a global pandemic. She talks about partnering with the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET), the Commonwealth Pharmacist Association and two hospitals in Ghana to share best practice and that they managed to publish a lot of their work. There’s enough here to whet your appetite on all things AMS.