Antimicrobial stewardship in critical care

Antimicrobial resistance remains a major global health threat driven largely by inappropriate antibiotic use. This review examines antimicrobial stewardship in critical care, outlining how multidisciplinary approaches, optimized diagnostics, pharmacokinetics, and digital tools support more targeted and effective therapy. It highlights the role of rapid diagnostics, biomarkers such as procalcitonin, and electronic health records in improving outcomes, with particular attention to high-risk groups including transplant recipients and patients with sepsis. The review also addresses implementation challenges, especially in low-resource settings, and underscores the need for global cooperation, sustained education, surveillance, and adaptable stewardship policies to preserve antimicrobial effectiveness and improve patient outcomes.