Significant Regional Differences in Antibiotic Use Across 576 U.S. Hospitals and 11,701,326 Million Adult Admissions, 2016 – 2017

Quantifying the amount and diversity of antibiotic use in United States hospitals assists antibiotic stewardship efforts but is hampered by limited national surveillance. Our study aimed to address this knowledge gap by examining adult antibiotic use across 576 hospitals and nearly 12 million encounters in 2016 – 2017.

Adult inpatient antibiotic use remains high, driven predominantly by broad-spectrum agents. Better understanding reasons for inter-hospital usage differences, including by region and teaching status, may inform efforts to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.