Hospitalizations With Antibiotic-Resistant Infections on the Rise
Major Finding: The percentage of hospitalizations that involved an antibiotic-resistant infection rose from 0.12% in 1997 to 0.46% in 2006. Patients with resistant infections were increasingly younger and less likely to have health insurance.
Data Source: A retrospective analysis of a weighted sample of 370.3 million U.S. hospitalizations.
Disclosures: Dr. Mainous did not report having any conflicts of interest related to the study.
Growing awareness of antibiotic resistance may have altered coding practices during the study period, Dr. Mainous acknowledged. Additionally, the study was limited by the inability to tell if infections arose in the hospital or in the community, and how severe they were.
Dr. Mainous did not report having any conflicts of interest related to the study.
