Overview perspective of bacterial resistance

The rapidly escalating prevalence of antimicrobial resistance is a global concern. This reduced susceptibility to currently available antimicrobial agents coupled with the progressive shortage of newly approved compounds is a worrisome situation. Major problems are encountered for a growing number of Gram-positive (i.e., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Enterococcus spp.) and Gram-negative pathogens (i.e., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae). We provide an overview of bacterial resistance focusing on the most common pathogens responsible for infection in both the community and healthcare settings. In addition, several strategies to curb antimicrobial resistance are also discussed. It is increasingly evident that without the introduction of novel antimicrobial agents, a return to the clinical outcomes associated with the pre-antibiotic era are inevitable.