Importance of Infectious Disease Specialist and/or Clinical Microbiologist During Multidisciplinary Rounds in Intensive Care Unit

Before the year 2010, the clinical rounds for critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) were typically done by physicians and nurses. There are issues regarding the communication of information about patient’s clinical data with other specialties whose input will improve the morbidity and mortality of critically ill patients. A typical multidisciplinary team (MDT) in the ICU is composed of an intensivist or physician, bedside nurse, clinical pharmacist, respiratory therapist, physical and occupational therapist, dietician, and sometimes family members. It is recommended to have an infectious disease (ID) expert and or clinical microbiologist in MDT rounds in the ICU as a majority of critically ill patients are admitted in the ICU due to sepsis and septic shock. These groups of patients need antimicrobial drugs, microbiological investigations, proper infection control, and prevention policies along with prompt resuscitation and sustained organ support management to have a better and favorable outcome. The inclusion of these specialists during MDT rounds in the ICU will help in appropriate antimicrobial drug administration with the right dose and duration of therapy, thereby avoiding the development of antimicrobial resistance and following a strict antibiotic stewardship program. At the same time, the presence of ID specialists and/or clinical microbiologists and or infection control practitioners will help in following and implementing hospital infection control practice, thus improving patient outcomes with lesser duration of appropriate antimicrobial agents and reducing the overall cost of the therapy.