FDA notes full implementation of rules on antibiotic use in food animals
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that it has reached a "significant milestone" in efforts to reduce the use of medically important antibiotics in food producing animals.
Under Guidance for Industry #213, all pharmaceutical companies that sell medically important antibiotics for use in food animals were asked to voluntarily commit to making two label changes to their products by Jan 1: (1) remove any "growth promotion" claims and (2) change the marketing status of products administered to food animals via water and feed so that they can be used only under veterinary supervision. Companies have had 3 years to make these changes.
As of last week, FDA records showed that the labels for several products remained unchanged. But as of Jan 3, the FDA says, all affected drug applications "have either aligned with the recommendations outlined in GFI #213, or their approvals have been voluntarily withdrawn."
"As a result of these changes, these products cannot be used for production (e.g., growth promotion) purposes and may only be used under the authorization of a licensed veterinarian," the agency said in a press release.
Of the 292 new animal drug applications initially affected by Guidance #213, 84 have been completely withdrawn, 93 products intended for use in water have been converted from over-the-counter to prescription status, and 115 products intended for use in feed have been converted from over-the-counter to veterinary feed directive status. Twenty-two products have had growth promotion claims withdrawn from their applications
The agency says that it will now focus its efforts on promoting antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary settings.
Jan 3 FDA press release
Study: MRSA pneumonia cases declining in US hospital patients
A new longitudinal study in the American Journal of Infection Control indicates that the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia is declining in US hospital patients, a trend that is accompanied by improvements in mortality and length of hospital stay.
Using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database, investigators from the University of Buffalo analyzed adult patients who had been discharged from US hospitals from 2009 through 2012 and had a primary diagnosis code for MRSA pneumonia or methicillin-susceptible S aureus (MSSA) pneumonia. The main outcome variables include overall S aureus pneumonias (a composite of MRSA and MSSA diagnoses), in-hospital mortality, and length of stay.
The investigators found that 104,562 patients had a primary diagnosis code for S aureus pneumonia during the study period, with MRSA accounting for 77.7% of the cases. Overall S aureus pneumonia cases dropped from 96.4 per 100,000 hospital discharges in 2009 to 73.7 cases per 100,000 in 2012 (a decline of 24%), while MRSA pneumonia cases declined from 75.6 cases per 100,000 in 2009 to 56.6 cases per 100,000 in 2012 (a 19% drop). MSSA pneumonia cases fell from 20.8 per 100,000 to 17.1 during the study period.
Mortality rates for MRSA and MSSA pneumonia also decreased during the study period, dropping from 7.9% to 6.4% and from 6.9% to 4.7%, respectively. In addition, median length of hospital stay fell from 7.4 to 6.8 days for MRSA pneumonia patients. Among MSSA pneumonia patients, however, median length of stay rose slightly, from 6.1 to 6.2 days.
The authors say the decline in S aureus pneumonia-related infections is "highly encouraging," and add that it could be attributable to increased awareness, improved training of healthcare workers, implementation of infection control procedures, and an increase in antimicrobial stewardship programs. What's more, they write, "Declining rates of MRSA pneumonia could provide an opportunity for antimicrobial stewardship where vancomycin is withdrawn early or even withheld empirically."
But they note that their study may underestimate the burden of MRSA pneumonias, and they caution that vigilance is still warranted, given that MRSA pneumonia is associated with more adverse outcomes compared with other types of pneumonia.
Dec 30 Am J Infect Control study