Grant: Working Groups on Antimicrobial Resistance

The resistance of bacteria to commonly available antibiotics has become a public health crisis. Both the need for powerful antibiotics and the development of resistance to these antibiotics is a particular problem in the ICU where the sickest patients are cared for. Patterns of resistance and of antibiotic use vary around the world, suggesting that we might be able to identify specific modifiable factors that result in resistance. Building on the scope of a global network of clinician-led critical care research groups - the International Forum for Acute Care Trialists (InFACT) - we will build a global network that will track patterns of antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in the ICU, seeking potential factors in the environment and in clinical practice that promote resistance.