Growth and geographic variation in hospitalizations with resistant infections, United States, 2000-2005.

From 2000 through 2005, hospitalizations with resistant infections (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile-associated disease, vancomycin-resistant enterococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida infection) nearly doubled, from 499,702 to 947,393. Regional variations noted in the aggregate and by individual infection may help clarify modifiable risk factors driving these infections.