Antimicrobial-Resistant Infections and Risks
WHO ranks AMR among the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity.
The burden of AMR today
Globally
4.95M
deaths globally (2019) associated with bacterial AMR
1.27M
deaths directly attributable to resistant infections (2019)
United States
2.8M+
resistant infections occur every year in the U.S.
35,000+
deaths each year as a direct result of antibiotic-resistant infections
What happens if AMR goes unaddressed
Without new treatments and stronger stewardship, projections point to a steep and accelerating human toll.
By 2050, globally
10M
deaths projected per year from AMR if left unaddressed, surpassing today’s annual toll from cancer.
39M
estimated lives lost worldwide 2025–2050 under current resistance trends
AMR risk and hospitalization
Resistant Gram-negative infections can complicate rapid pathogen identification and selection of appropriate empiric therapy as culture results are typically not available for 48–72 hours. In hospitalized patients, delayed or inappropriate therapy has been associated with increased risk of serious clinical and economic implications.
When appropriate therapy is delayed
~20%
higher risk of in-hospital mortality or discharge to hospice
~70%
increase in length of hospital stay (+4.9 days)
~65%
increase in total in-hospital treatment costs
An adjusted meta-analysis of 16 studies (2493 patients) found that inappropriate empiric therapy nearly tripled the odds of mortality in Gram-negative infections (OR 3.30).
The window to act is narrowing
Inappropriate antibiotic selection can magnify resistance, delay effective treatment, and lead to serious consequences.
Timely appropriate therapy has been associated with lower mortality.
“There is an urgent need to shift treatment practices away from escalation strategies that contribute to delayed appropriate therapy and toward early, relatively aggressive and comprehensive antibiotic therapy in patients with serious infections known or suspected to be of Gram-negative etiology.”
References: 1. Antimicrobial Resistance. World Health Organization. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/antimicrobial-resistance/amr-factsheet.pdf. 2. Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis. Lancet. 2002;399(10325):629-655. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02724-0 3. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States 2019. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed October 6, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/media/pdfs/2019-ar-threats-report-508.pdf 4. Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance 1990-2021: a systematic analysis with forecasts to 2050. Lancet. 2024;404(10459):1199-1226. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01867-1. 5. Tackling a global health crisis: initial steps. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. February 2015. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/Report-52.15.pdf 6. Lodise TP, Berger A, Altincatal A, et al. Antimicrobial resistance or delayed appropriate therapy—does one influence outcomes more than the other among patients with serious infections due to carbapenem-resistant versus carbapenem-susceptible Enterobacteriaceae? Open Forum Infect Dis. 2019;6(6):ofz194. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofz194 7. Zilberberg MD, Nathanson BH, Sulham K, Fan W, Shorr AF. Carbapenem resistance, inappropriate empiric treatment and outcomes among patients hospitalized with Enterobacteriaceae urinary tract infection, pneumonia and sepsis. BMC Infect Dis. 2017;17(1):279. doi:10.1186/s12879-017-2383-z 8. Bonine NG, Berger A, Altincatal A, et al. Impact of delayed appropriate antibiotic therapy on patient outcomes by antibiotic resistance status from serious Gram-negative bacterial infections. Am J Med Sci. 2019;357(2):103-110. doi:10.1016/j.amjms.2018.11.009 9. Raman G, Avendano E, Berger S, Menon V. Appropriate initial antibiotic therapy in hospitalized patients with gram-negative infections: systemic review and meta-analysis. BMC Infect Dis. 2015;15:395. doi:10.1186/s12879-015-1123-5