Across the EU, 25 000 people die each year from drug resistant infections (WHO). Worldwide, this number will increase to 10 million by 2050, according to the UK AMR Review. This is 1.8 million more deaths than those attributed to cancer. Not only will this impact patient safety and recovery, but it risks going back to a ‘pre-antibiotic era’, where patients could die from simple bacterial infections and life-saving treatments can no longer be performed safely (WHO).
The challenge of AMR is closely linked to Healthcare-Acquired Infections, HAIs. In fact, HAIs are often caused by resistant bacteria (ECDC), but the occurrence of an infection in the first place can also increase the risk of developing resistant strains.
The effective use of diagnostic tests and medical devices can help to address these challenges by:
- Preventing healthcare-associated infections to develop in the first place and therefore avoiding the development of resistant strains and the overuse of antibiotics.
- Detecting and identifying bacterial infections and their susceptibility to medication, therefore avoiding the misuse of antibiotics.
- Monitoring and tracking resistance and enabling patient compliance to the appropriate use of antibiotics.
For more information on how medtech addresses AMR and HAIs throughout the patient pathway, please visit our AMR website.
Below please see some further material that was developed by the AMR/HAI Working Group of MedTech Europe.