Objective: Nowadays, the infections of patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) are a major public health problem; this is due to several factors, in primis an increase in antibiotic resistance and the inappropriate use of antibiotics. Methods: We briefly focus on on both new antibiotics approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in the last decade (2010-2019), and on agents in an advanced phase of development that have been developed, or are already approved, for the treatment of serious infections due to multidrug-resistant bacteria, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Results: An adequate knowledge of the new antibiotics will reduce their inappropriate use with the consequent reduction in the onset of new resistance and decreasing health care costs. Conclusion: Antimicrobial stewardship programs to optimize antimicrobial prescribing and to preserve the effectiveness of the new antimicrobial agents are urgently needed'.
Keywords: Intensive care unit infections; antibacterial agents; critically ill patients; multidrug-resistant organisms.