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A one-day prevalence survey of 183 hospitals found that approximately 50 percent of hospitalized patients included in the survey were receiving antimicrobial drugs, according to a new study. The study also found that the around half of these patients were receiving 2 or more antimicrobial drugs.

Researchers conducted the antimicrobial-drug use prevalence survey to determine the prevalence of inpatient antimicrobial-drug use, the most common antimicrobial drug types and the reasons for their use, the press release added.

According to the study, approximately 54 percent of treatment antimicrobial drugs were given to treat lower respiratory tract, urinary tract or skin and soft tissue infections only. 

"Results from this prevalence survey provide patient-level information that augments data on antimicrobial drug consumption and points to specific areas where interventions to improve antimicrobial use may be needed, such as vancomycin prescribing and respiratory infection treatment, supporting the CDC's recommendation that every acute care hospital implement an antimicrobial stewardship program," the authors wrote in the study. 

"To minimize patient harm and preserve effectiveness, it is imperative to critically examine and improve the ways in which antimicrobial drugs are used," the researchers write. "Improving antimicrobial use in hospitals benefits individual patients and also contributes to reducing antimicrobial resistance nationally."

The study has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.