Call for Review of the African Antibiotic Treatment Guidelines for Common Bacterial Infections and Syndromes

Instructions for External Review:

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in collaboration with the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) are developing African Antibiotic Treatment Guidelines for Common Bacterial Infections and Syndromes (First Edition) for publication in 2021. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide healthcare workers across the African continent with expert recommendations for antimicrobial selection, dosage, and duration of treatment for common bacterial infections and syndromes among pediatric and adult patient populations and to promote the appropriate use of antimicrobials to mitigate the emergence and spread of AMR pathogens. The guidelines were based on a review of existing national standard or clinical treatment guidelines, available AMR data, and clinical expertise from an international group of physicians, pharmacists, and other clinicians involved in the treatment of infectious diseases. The treatment recommendations are intended to complement existing national and international clinical treatment guidelines, where available, and to provide a template for local adaption in their absence. The guidelines are intended for use by clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other personnel involved in the treatment of infectious diseases or dispensing of antimicrobials in Africa.

This is a call for relevant experts to serve as members of the External Review Group. The purpose of the external review is to ensure that the proposed guidance is appropriate, feasible, and accessible to healthcare workers and other relevant guideline users in Africa.

The External Review Group will be tasked with reviewing the African Antibiotic Treatment Guidelines for Common Bacterial Infections and Syndromes for adult and pediatric patient populations and providing feedback on clinical content including on the availability of suggested antimicrobial selection, dosage, and treatment duration and on the clinical case definitions, principles of stewardship, and other clinical notes that accompany each treatment recommendation. The following guiding questions can serve as an outline for external reviewers for each infection/clinical syndrome for which treatment recommendations are provided:

1. Does the clinical definition accurately capture the major signs, symptoms, and causative agents of the infection/clinical syndrome?
2. Are the recommended antimicrobial agents widely available in your facility/country? If no, is there an alternative antimicrobial you would recommend for treatment?
3. Are the antimicrobial agent formulations widely available in your facility/country? If no, is there an alternative formulation you would recommend for treatment?
4. Is the dosage and duration clinically appropriate and feasible?
5. Are there additional principles of stewardship prescribers should take note of when treating the specified infection/syndrome?

Participants in the External Review Group must be qualified healthcare providers, researchers, laboratory staff, or pharmacists with experience diagnosing infectious diseases and prescribing antimicrobial therapies. Participants must currently or previously have lived and worked in any Africa Union member state. Participants may provide input on either the adult or pediatric guidelines or both according to your expertise and clinical experience.

Documents for external review will be made available through the Africa CDC website in English and French. There will be no maximum number of members for the External Review Group.

To submit your feedback, please download the guidelines in French or English as word documents and make edits and changes using the Track Changes and Comments features. Submit your edited documents as attachments to amrafricacdc@africa-union.org with the following information in the body of the e-mail:

1. Given name/forename
2. Surname
3. Degrees and qualifications
4. Current positions and affiliations
5. Current Location of Work (City, Country)

The deadline for input submission will be April 30, 2021.

External reviewers will be acknowledged in the final guidelines publication but we are unable to provide any compensation for this service. Africa CDC will give due consideration to all comments received but will not respond to individual comments directly. All feedback received will be posted publicly on this webpage.