Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Antibiotic Use Increases at VA Medical Centers

The first thing that comes to mind here, is that given the VA Hospital report cards, is there a correlation between the lower scoring medical facilities and this increase use of antibiotics by VA Hospitals?

Phrased another way, do the lower scoring VA hospitals also use more antibiotics, and if so why is this?

Full article at: 'Last resort' antibiotic use increasing
April 04, 2011

"Use of carbapenems, a powerful class of antibiotics often considered the last line of defense against severe multidrug resistant infections, increased 102% at Veteran's Affairs facilities between 2005 and 2009, according to data presented today at 2011 Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America Annual Scientific Meeting.

“Use of these antibiotics helps the patient receiving the treatment, but has future consequences of innocent bystanders,” study researcher Makoto Jones, MD, of the University of Utah School of Medicine said in a press release. “The more these drugs are used the more resistance we see."