Antimicrobial resistance and death certification: are we there yet?

A retrospective study of 758 patients at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2022 found that infection was the underlying cause of death for 11.7% of participants and was implicated in 41.1% of cases. The most common infection syndromes leading to death were respiratory tract infections, sepsis, and COVID-19. AMR-attributable deaths were more common in younger patients and those admitted under haematology. The majority of AMR-attributable deaths were caused by treatment failure and delay due to intrinsic resistance mechanisms, while a minority were caused by acquired resistance mechanisms. The median time to effective treatment was 32 hours and 15 minutes. AMR was not recorded as a cause of death in any of the patients.