Antibiotics are key part of treating infections. However, use and over-use of antibiotics leads to bacteria developing antibiotic resistance, where antibiotics no longer work as expected. When antibiotics are given to patients with infections, doctors and other professionals try to balance giving ... READ MORE
IORD – Ongoing approved projects and project outputs
The impact of antimicrobial stewardship ward rounds on antimicrobial use and predictors of advice and uptake
Antibiotics are key part of treating and preventing infections. However, use and over-use of antibiotics leads to bacteria developing antibiotic resistance, where antibiotics no longer work for patients as expected. One solution to this problem is developing and using new antibiotics, but ... READ MORE
Evaluating the impact of delays in concordant antibiotic treatment on patient survival
When a patient is suspected of having a bacterial infection, antibiotics are often given and at the same time blood, urine and other samples might be collected to try to identify the bacteria causing the infection. Different antibiotics work against different bacteria, and test results, which ... READ MORE
Analysis of trends in mortality rates following infection with SARS-CoV-2 in patients with underlying haemato-oncology diagnoses at Oxford University Hospitals
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing threat to public health worldwide. In hospitals, if antibiotics do not treat severe infections effectively this can lead to more deaths and longer hospital stays. However, prompt adjustments to antibiotic treatments to switch to an antibiotic that works may ... READ MORE
Global Research on AntiMicrobial resistance (GRAM) Project
The Global Research on AntiMicrobial resistance (GRAM) Project is the flagship study of the Oxford GBD (Global Burden of Disease) Group, and aims to provide robust, comprehensive and timely evidence of the burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in 195 countries and territories. The Oxford GBD ... READ MORE
The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on hospital admissions, antimicrobial prescribing and serious bacterial infections
The Covid-19 pandemic is having a profound impact on healthcare globally. Whilst the virus is directly devastating for many suffering from severe infection, there are also wider implications. These include potentially lower use of healthcare for other serious conditions with potential adverse ... READ MORE
Impact of antibiotics on detection and transmission of MRSA
Antibiotics are commonly used to treat infections, but they may also affect how other infections are detected and transmitted. MRSA is a potentially serious healthcare-associated infection. Over the past decade there has been major progress in reducing the number of patients who carry MRSA on their ... READ MORE
Can we estimate resistance in bloodstream infections from resistance in other types of specimen?
In order to reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance, a first key step is to understand how much resistance there is. This is typically done by looking at bacteria causing serious infections, particularly bloodstream infections. However, growing bacteria from blood usually requires ... READ MORE
Antimicrobial prescribing and risk of future resistant infection
Infections due to one particular family of bacteria called Enterobacteriaceae are increasing in Oxfordshire and worldwide, as are infections resistant to the commonly-used beta-lactam antibiotics (such as co-amoxiclav, sometimes also called augmentin). Treating people with particular types of ... READ MORE
Antibiotic use – if you use less antibiotic in general medicine are there adverse consequences?
Reducing antibiotic use to combat antimicrobial resistance is a priority. We want to know if we can do this safely and without putting patients at undue risk. Antibiotic use was measured over 1 week in an intensive audit of practice in the Acute/General Medicine service at the John Radcliffe. This ... READ MORE
Trends in bacterial pathogens, antibiotic resistance, antibiotic usage and patient outcomes in critical care in the Oxford University NHS Trust hospitals, 1999-2014
Antibiotics are medicines that are hugely important in treating many infections, and antibiotic resistance is a major clinical problem. Research has shown that increased use of antibiotics, whether appropriate or inappropriate, seems to be associated with higher numbers of antibiotic-resistant ... READ MORE
Antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of urinary isolates from samples collected in the community
Urinary tract infections comprise around 1% of the 300 million general practice consultations annually in the UK; most of these are acute uncomplicated UTIs (AUUTIs) in women of childbearing age. AUUTIs affect around 50% of women during their lifetime and, by 24 years of age, one-third of women have ... READ MORE