Bon usage des antibiotiques dans les établissements de santé : comment avancer ?

The spread of bacterial antibiotic resistance is a serious threat to antimicrobial treatment efficacy. Nevertheless, antibiotic use is often quantitatively and qualitatively inappropriate. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) encompasses the actions aiming at improving antibiotic use, and its efficacy is supported by evidence. However, there is still a large room for improvement in several domains, defining quality indicators of antibiotic use, clarifying determinants of prescription behaviour, designing and implementing interventions, and developing methodologies to evaluate the impact of these interventions. This perspective article aims at discussing the main issues and novel aspects of antimicrobial stewardship in hospitals.