[Every tenth hospitalized patient is given antibiotics for a nosocomial infection].

In a point-prevalence survey at Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden, 237/723 (33%) of patients admitted to non-psychiatric units received antibiotics. Among these, 181 received treatment for an infection and 56 as prophylaxis. We found that 11% of all patients were treated with antibiotics for a nosocomial infection and that an additional 8% received antibiotics as prophylaxis for nosocomial infections. The high rate of infections emphasizes the importance of integrating surveillance of nosocomial infections into the quality system.