1 in 3 community hospital patients get inappropriate bloodstream infection antibiotics

More than one in three community hospital patients treated for a bloodstream infection (BSI) get inappropriate antibiotic therapy, according to a new study published in PLoS One. Researchers from Duke University and the University of North Carolina Health System identified 1,470 patients with BSIs at nine community hospitals in the U.S. from 2003 to 2006. Community-onset, healthcare-associated BSIs were the most common infections and the main cause was S. aureus bacteria. Hospital staff gave 38 percent of patients inappropriate antibiotics, researchers found. U.S. community hospitals need better performance metrics for physicians and hospital stewardship programs, researchers concluded. Study