Antibiotic prescribing at the transition from hospitalization to discharge: a target for antibiotic stewardship

Of 300 patients prescribed oral antibiotics at the time of hospital discharge, urinary tract infection, community-acquired pneumonia, and skin infections accounted for 181 of the treatment indications (60%). Half of the prescriptions were antibiotics with broad Gram-negative activity. Discharge prescriptions were inappropriate in 79 of 150 cases reviewed (53%).