About us
The Antimicrobial Stewardship Team (AST) at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is made up of dedicated Infectious Diseases (ID) physician consultants and ID pharmacists working towards improving the appropriateness of antibiotic usage within the hospital.
We review patients admitted under the Level 3 ICU (CRCU, CVICU, RTBC), General Internal Medicine, Trauma, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Cardiology, and Nephrology clinical services on days 3, 7 and 14 of broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy. These antibiotics include:
- Third generation cephalosporins (ceftriaxone, ceftazidime)
- Piperacillin-tazobactam
- IV and PO fluoroquinolones (levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin)
- Carbapenems (meropenem, ertapenem)
- IV vancomycin
- Aminoglycosides (gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin)
Our goal is to improve the quality of patient care, by reducing antibiotic resistance and complications associated with overuse and misuse of these medications.