Study finds US hospitals predominantly use older, less effective antibiotics despite FDA approval of next-generation ones.

Despite FDA approval of seven next-generation antibiotics to combat antibiotic-resistant gram-negative infections, clinicians in US hospitals predominantly treat patients with older, generic antibiotics which are less effective and less safe, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center. The slow adoption of new antibiotics threatens future development and supply of drugs needed to fight highly resistant infections.