Responsibility of the infectious disease community for optimal use of antibiotics: views of the membership of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

A questionnaire was sent to 1,500 members and fellows of the Infectious Diseases Society of American to elicit their views on the use of antimicrobial agents. The rate of return was 58.7%. A high proportion of respondents (86.8%) stated that they had a strong professional interest in antimicrobial therapy and were active in infection control and antibiotic use in their institutions--488 hospitals including community, university, children's, and governmental facilities. The membership was concerned with problems of antibiotic use in hospitals, laboratory methods of reporting susceptibility, promotional practices of industry, and development of microbial resistance. Members were troubled by how best to deal with excessive use of antibiotics in hospitals. Respondents strongly supported efforts to improve the control of antimicrobial use in hospitals and to examine issues of drug use and resistance in developing countries; they provided suggestions for development of a code of ethical conduct with industry.