The use of injectable antibiotics in two general hospitals

Injectable antibiotic use in Nottingham has shown a change in the past 3 years: the quantity of cefotaxime and cefuroxime prescribed by the end of 1983 was double that of aminoglycosides. The majority (69%) of use of the newer cephalosporins is for prophylaxis. This significant increase in use of cephalosporins has not been accompanied by an increase in bacterial resistance to cefuroxime or cefotaxime. However, these two agents cause the majority of toxin-positive antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in Nottingham hospitals.