Although antimicrobials are prescribed frequently to the general population in both the community and hospital setting, they may be prescribed inappropriately at a higher rate in people with HIV due to their increased contact with the healthcare system, especially in patients with more pronounced immunosuppression. This is demonstrated in a retrospective evaluation through the HIV Virtual Cohort Study that was conducted by Sweet et al in which they evaluated the rate of antimicrobial prescribing in people with HIV (PWH) and those without HIV in patients with acute respiratory tract infections. Antimicrobials were prescribed less frequently overall in PWH (26%) compared with those without HIV (34%); however, there was a higher rate of inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing in PWH versus those without HIV.
The increased use of antimicrobials can lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance, which already is associated with almost 3 million infections and 35,000 deaths as of 2019. Ford et al reviewed the current literature to determine what factors contributed to hospital admission and mortality in PWH worldwide. The data demonstrated that bacterial infections were the second-leading cause of hospitalization and mortality in adult patients, second only to AIDS-related illnesses.
Read the full review here.
Source : Infectious Disease Special Edition
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