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Project Topic
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Surveillance is essential to all aspects of the clinical management of antimicrobial resistance. It provides necessary information to develop empiric therapy guidelines, antibiotic formularies, and stewardship programmes. However, the value of surveillance as a critical component of antimicrobial stewardship is not fully established and the majority of the guidance documents focuses either on laboratory surveillance or antibiotic guidelines. The ARCH Network uniquely brings together multisectoral specialists and networks in the field of animal and human surveillance to bridge the gap between surveillance data and antibiotic stewardship in both compartments. The group will finalise four white papers (“Bridge the Gap: Survey to Treat”) tailored to: hospitals (medical and surgical wards, paediatric clinic, intensive care units), long term care facilities, out-patients ambulatory, and veterinary care. The white papers will be developed in the form of checklists (App and paper forms) summarising the kind of microbiological and antimicrobial use data that are essential for antibiotic prescribing, and how these data relate to antibiotic guidance and stewardship interventions. The multidisciplinary group will integrate recommendations for the checklist implementation in heterogeneous economic settings and where expertise in surveillance is limited. The ARCH Network will organise two one day workshops and will be operating through Webex meetings and conference calls. During the first workshop, the group will discuss opportunities for data sharing, other networks involvement, website features, and define the milestones and tasks´ timeline. The drafts of the white papers will be available for open consultation to ARCH members and through the associated networks (EUCIC, EPI-Net, ResistanceMap, LOTTA, EUCAST, LAB-Net, KISS, HANNET, Global PPS, AMCLI-COSA, SWISS-NOSO, CLEO) and international stakeholders (ECDC, WHO, Wellcome, EMA). The ARCH experts will also develop a strategic research agenda to identify critical areas and gaps in clinical surveillance. In the second workshop white papers and the strategic research agenda will be reviewed and approved. The dissemination will be pursued in the dedicated website, quarterly newsletter, national and international conferences, publications in open scientific peer reviewed journals and though relevant national societies in the field. The ARCH Network will also develop a plan for the sustainability of the network after the funding period.
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