Pune: Noted intensivists from across the country recently gathered in the city to speak at an international symposium on the increasing need for awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The 12th annual Best of Brussels symposium was organised by the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, Pune chapter. The three-day symposium, ‘Best of Brussels’, started last Friday and a media briefing on the same was held on Saturday.
Dr Shirish Prayag, council member, Sepsis Forum, an NGO, said that it has been observed over the years that about 70% of current antibiotics used to treat various infections are not working on patients. This has led to increased mortality among patients, requiring critical care, by 30%. City-based intensivist Dr Kapil Zirpe said that sepsis would be the leading cause of deaths in the country by 2050 as there is a 7-8% increase year-on-year in outpatients, and 11% among indoor patients who are reporting repeated infections.
Dr Tanu Singhal, consultant paediatrics and infectious diseases, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, said “The pipeline of newer drugs is slower and soon we will be in era of pre-antibiotics, where no antibiotics will be left to treat infections.”
Dr Yatin Mehta, chairman, Medanta Institute of Critical Care and Anaesthesiology, said, “Every hospital should have antibiotic stewardship programmes, which should be strictly followed.”
Dr Subhal Dixit, joint organising secretary, Best of Brussels, said, “Data from WHO or Surviving Sepsis guidelines state that 50 million patients were admitted in ICUs across the world due to sepsis. In India, we expect the rates to double by 2050.”
