Preserving the Lifesaving Power of Antimicrobial Agents

Many medical advances that physicians and patients take for granted are endangered by increasing antibiotic resistance and a distressing decline in the antibiotic research and development pipeline. Antibiotic-resistant infections have been estimated to cost the US health care system more than $20 billion annually and result in more than 8 million additional days in the hospital. Drug resistance is both a public health and national security threat. Here, Hughes determines how to limit the emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant organisms.