The WFSA board have presented the following statement on ‘Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)’ at the 148th World Health Organisation (WHO) Executive Board Meeting.
WFSA is a Non-State Actor in official relations with WHO. The statement was presented orally by WFSA’s Treasurer, Professor Davy Cheng on 25 January 2021.
Agenda Item 9: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Surgery, Anaesthesia and Perioperative Care
The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) is the foremost global alliance of anaesthesiologists providing perioperative and critical care medicine, including infection prevention and control.
Surgical site infections are the most common healthcare-associated infections among surgical patients. Wide-spread misuse and overuse of antimicrobials to prevent and control infections, together with use of poor-quality antimicrobials in low and middle income countries increases the risk of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
AMR leads to treatment failure, antibiotic-associated adverse outcomes, postoperative complications, and higher hospital/healthcare costs.
WFSA calls on member states to adopt:
- The perioperative use of antibiotic prophylaxis in preventing or treating surgical site infection that are evidence-based to ensure optimum delivery, dosage and scheduling of the appropriate antibiotics.
- The recommendations of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines and the WHO Antimicrobial stewardship programmes in health care.
