Superbug battle is being lost in aged care: report

Most patients on antimicrobials display no symptoms of infection
Professor John Turnidge
Professor John Turnidge.

Fewer than one in five antimicrobial scripts written in aged care homes are appropriate based on the patient’s symptoms, a national surveillance report on antimicrobial resistance suggests.

The Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA) includes the results of a single-day survey at 292 aged care homes, mostly in Victoria, finding that 9% of patients were on antimicrobials.