Prescribing antibiotics in the US

Antibiotics are powerful agents for fighting illness and disease. However, they have been used so widely and for so long that infectious organisms have adapted to them, making the drugs less effective. Antibiotic-resistant infections can happen anywhere; however, most occur in the general community. Yet most deaths occur in healthcare settings, such as hospitals and long-term care homes.

Each year in the United States at least two million people become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and approximately 23,000 people die. Many more die from other conditions that were complicated by an antibiotic-resistant infection.

Bacteria seem to find ways of resisting therapeutic antibiotics. Therefore, aggressive action is needed now to keep new resistance from developing and to prevent existing resistance from spreading.

Antibiotic use can lead to other adverse outcomes, such as allergies or Clostridium difficile infections. C. difficile was estimated to cause almost half a million infections in the United States in 2011, with 29,000 dying within 30 days of their initial diagnosis. High-risk individuals include older adults who take antibiotics, but did not have an overnight healthcare facility stay. However, 41% had a physician or dentist visit within the past three months.