960. Optimizing the report of antimicrobial resistance in Mexican hospitals: An unfinished business.


 
 
 One of the aims of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) in hospitals is to make an efficient use of the available infrastructure to enhance surveillance and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) reporting. In this study, we aimed to explore specific AMR reporting mechanisms in ASPs in Mexican hospitals in order to highlight potential areas of improvement.
 
 
 
 An online survey was applied to a purposive sample of 40 hospitals who performed regular antimicrobial stewardship activities in Mexico. Answers regarding a subset of questions on antimicrobial susceptibility monitoring and reporting practices were provided by ASP professionals.
 
 
 
 A total of 39 hospitals (14 private and 25 public hospitals) in 13 states in Mexico answered the subset of the survey. Thirty-three of those (85%) expressed that their databases allowed periodically monitoring of changes in susceptibility and resistance patterns for specific pathogens. As many as 17 hospitals (44%) reported to two external national academic networks and none reported to international ones. Only 10 reported to the National Hospital Network for Epidemiological Surveillance (RHOVE) in charge of AMR data (29%). Thirty hospitals (77%) declared reporting their AMR consolidated results internally to either the epidemiology department, an ASP leader, or other hospital committee. Twenty percent of the surveyed hospitals issued AMR reports to two entities, an additional 10% of them to 3 entities and 5% more to 4 different entities; reporting to >3 entities was observed only in public hospitals. Two hospitals (5%) declared not submitting AMR reports at all.
 
 
 
 The adoption of reporting commitments without guiding national AMR policies derives into the duplicity of processes (reporting to different networks or entities) requiring additional human and financial resources. It also reflects the unavailability of a functional national reporting system allowing all hospitals to monitor and access the reported information nationally or internationally (GLASS). Optimizing AMR surveillance and reporting in Mexico must incorporate the simplification and standardization of reporting processes into an articulated system in line with the National Strategy against AMR.
 
 
 
 Anahí Dreser, PhD, MSD: Grant/Research Support.
