CHICAGO – Antibacterial drug use appears to have increased at academic medical centers between 2002 and 2006, driven primarily by greater use of broad-spectrum agents and the antibiotic vancomycin, according to a report in the Nov. 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Using antibacterial drugs increases the risk that pathogens will become resistant to their effects, according to background information in the article. Infection with drug-resistant bacteria is associated with greater illness and death and higher health care costs than infection with bacteria susceptible to antibiotics. “Many professional societies and national agencies have recommended monitoring antibacterial use and linking patterns of use to resistance,” the authors write.
Amy L. Pakyz, PharmD, MS, of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. and colleagues measured antibiotic use documented in claims data from university teaching hospitals between 2002 and 2006. In 2006 and 2007, pharmacists or physicians specializing in infectious diseases at 19 hospitals completed a 12-question survey about factors that may influence antimicrobial drug use, including whether the hospital had a stewardship program to reduce antibiotic use.
