Working Group Webinars

Beyond the pill: Transformative approaches to combat antimicrobial resistance

This joint webinar was hosted by the AMR Declaration Trust and the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) on 26 August 2023.

The aim of this webinar was to delve deep into the multifaceted issues surrounding antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Drawing from expertise across different regions and specialties, experts explored strategies ranging from grassroots implementation to high-level policy changes.

Viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs): superinfections

Superinfection of viral respiratory infection has been one of the hottest topics during the first waves of COVID-19: although it was rapidly demonstrated that coinfections were rare during the first days, fungal or bacterial superinfections was a major cause of death for intensive care unit patients on various immunosuppressive treatments (dexamethasone, IL6-inhibitors, etc.), who required prolonged mechanical ventilation. More recently, the burden of Group A streptococci superinfections have dramatically increased, in children and in adults, for reasons that still remain unclear.
ISAC and APUA invited three worldwide experts in the field of superinfections, to share with us the main features of these hot topics.

The fight against antimicrobial resistance: a luta continua!

Expert speakers provided updates on the current AMR situation worldwide, with a particular focus on low- to middle- income countries (LMICs), and the efforts to fight it.

Insights of antimicrobial therapy in biofilm-associated infections: the clinical paradigm of prosthetic joint infections

Dr Jaime Lora-Tamayo (Hospital University 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain) presented an overview of biofilm-associated infections by using the specific problems of prosthetic joint infections as example. Dr Lora-Tamayo focussed on the antimicrobial treatment of these infections.

New Roles of beta-lactamase enzymes

The discovery of beta-lactamase encoding sequences in different organisms and also in humans and arthropods, has opened a new field of research of their roles, since these enzymes are multi-functional and have a very ancient evolution in kingdom of life. 
Jean-Marc Rolain (Editor, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, France) provided some examples of such discovery, including new roles of these enzymes in different fields.

Clinical Trials Targeting Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobials have been a cornerstone of modern medicine. However, antimicrobial resistance is now one of the most urgent global health threats. To combat the increasing antimicrobial resistance, optimising the clinical use of current antibiotics and development of new antibiotics are critical and require robust clinical trials using pharmacokinetic/ pharmacodynamic/toxicodynamic principles.

In this ISAC online roundtable event, internationally leading clinicians and researchers reviewed the latest progress in clinical trials on antibiotics targeting antimicrobial resistance and discuss the challenges and opportunities.

Hot topics on skin, bone and joint infections

Thank you for joining the webinar on Hot topics in skin, bone and joint infections on 24 March 2022.

The webinar covered a variety of interesting topics including mycobacterial peri-prosthetic joint infections, application of molecular assays in the diagnosis of septic arthritis, epidemiological data related to skin infections as well as timing for intravenous to oral switch in skin and soft tissue infections and antibiotic alternatives in some of these infections.

Membrane lipid remodelling confers polymyxin resistance in Gram-negative bacteria Early Career Webinar

25 July 2023

The global threat from antibiotic resistance was highlighted in 2017 when the World Health Organization (WHO) published its first-ever priority pathogen list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Considered most in need of new treatment options were problematic Gram-negative bacteria (including Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacteriaceae) which contain a unique double-membrane cell envelope that acts as a first-line defence mechanism against many antibiotics.

However, there is a lack of understanding of how bacteria modify their cell surface to resist antibiotics and how these modifications affect interactions with membrane-targeting antibiotics (e.g., the last-line polymyxin antibiotics).

These significant knowledge gaps severely limit the design of much-needed novel antibiotics targeting antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

This free webinar discussed the mechanism(s) underpinning the rapid and extensive membrane lipid remodelling and its relationship with polymyxin resistance in Gram-negative bacteria

Journey into the anti-infective field: academia, clinical and industry perspectives

The ISAC Early Career Working Group and Anti-infective Pharmacology Working Group organised the first International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (ISAC) and International Society of Anti-Infective Pharmacology (ISAP) joint Early Career webinar.

This webinar aimed to provide a platform for early career researchers (ECRs) to obtain career advice and to better understand the pressures impacting them and their career development.

Introduction to adaptive clinical trial design

Adaptive designs can make clinical trials more flexible by utilising results accumulating in the trials to adjust the trials with respect to pre-specified rules. Adaptive design trials are often more efficient, informative and ethical than trials with a traditional fixed design since they often make better use of resources such as time and money and might require fewer participants.

Adaptive designs can be applied across all phases of clinical research, from early-phase dose escalation to confirmatory trials.

This talk introduced different types of adaptive designs, general principles and their key aspects. The focus is on the interpretation and reporting of results from adaptive designs through examples in literature.

This webinar is the second in the Working Group's series on "When Pharmacometrics and systems pharmacology meet infectious diseases".

Antimicrobial Pharmacometrics: Mathematical Models for Antimicrobial Research and Development

In this talk, Dr Yu-Wei Lin introduced different antimicrobial pharmacometric techniques and highlighted the usefulness of pharmacometric analyses in antimicrobial research.

The world now faces an enormous and growing threat from the emergence of bacteria that are resistant to almost all current antibiotics. In this context, the field of pharmacometrics using mathematical models has, in recent years, emerged as an invaluable tool in academia, industry and regulatory agencies to facilitate the integration of preclinical and clinical data and to provide a scientifically based framework for designing and optimising dosing regimens.

In this talk, Dr Yu-Wei Lin will introduce different antimicrobial pharmacometric techniques and highlight the usefulness of pharmacometric analyses in antimicrobial research.

Hot topics on infections in critical care

Infections represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the critical care setting, especially in our era of multidrug-resistant pathogens.

During the COVID19 pandemic, on the other hand, a significant increase in the prevalence of ICU infections has been reported. Prompt diagnosis of critical care infections and appropriate treatment in optimised doses, along with antibiotic stewardship, are of outmost importance for improved outcomes and tackling antimicrobial resistance development.

Regional & National MRSA Surveillance Programmes Worldwide

The webinar aimed to review national and regional surveillance programmes for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The first meeting included brief presentations from laboratories in several countries that undertake MRSA surveillance. This was  followed by a period of moderated discussion to assess best practices. The goals were to understand the variety of approaches to surveillance worldwide and to develop principles that may underlie future harmonization of surveillance methods.

Rapid diagnostics & biomarkers at the heart of patient management

Provision of medicine is transforming due to the amount of research and development in novel diagnostics and technologies.

In this webinar, ISAC’s Rapid Diagnostics & Biomarkers Working Group provided a number of short presentations on how rapid and novel diagnostics and technologies and their application can impact clinical practice and the provision of microbiology, infectious disease, antimicrobial stewardship and infection control services.

Dissemination of viral infections during mass gatherings

The purpose of this webinar was to outline the most significant viral infections currently associated with mass gatherings, suggest key planning considerations for the organisers of mass gatherings in the context of novel viral outbreaks and provide general advice on the public health aspects of mass events.

Monkeypox: a new human threat?

Experts provided the latest information on the epidemiology, transmission, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of monkeypox and ISAC's recent webinar which was organised by the Viral Infections Working Group.