I’m Alessandre Guimarães, an infectious disease doctor, who works in Belém do Pará, at the University Hospital of reference in the specialty, at the philanthropic Hospital and in the private network, and I had sepsis! 

In view of the context of my experience, the rational use of antimicrobials worldwide, and, I would even say, a next step in this, which would be the “management of use”, something that we doctors need to learn and become familiar with, play a fundamental role in the selective pressure to spread multidrug-resistant bacteria in the hospital environment. 

I am a survivor of a septic shock I suffered at the age of 22, due to community-acquired pneumonia caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes. I remained hospitalized for 62 days and faced several complications, including a second infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, both of which are multidrug-resistant. These events had a negative impact on my physical and psychological health, resulting in a readmission six months after discharge and a period of more than one year to return to work. Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health emergency. To reverse this paradigm, I believe that it is essential to promote education with news for health professionals and the community, in addition to ensuring the implementation of effective protocols for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infections.