A study published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society examined antibiotic prescriptions for hospitalized children around the world.
Researchers studied antibiotic prescriptions for 6,818 pediatric inpatients at 226 hospitals in 41 countries, including four in the U.S. They analyzed the prescriptions for one day in 2012.
Researchers found 11,899 total antibiotic prescriptions, of which 28.6 percent were for prophylactic use. Of hospitalized children who received at least one antibiotic prescription, 32.9 percent received the medication to prevent a potential infection rather than to treat a current one.
They also found of the antibiotics prescribed for prophylactic use, 26.6 percent were to mitigate potential infections linked with an upcoming surgery, and the remaining 73.4 percent of the prescriptions were to potentially prevent other types of infections.
Around 51 percent of all preventive prescriptions were for broad-spectrum antibiotics, and two or more systemic antibiotics were prescribed at the same time in 36.7 percent of cases.
"This pattern and high rate of prophylactic prescribing indicates a clear overuse of antibiotics," said study author Dr. Markus Hufnagel of the University of Freiburg in Germany.