The Effects of Antibiotic Cycling and Mixing on Antibiotic Resistance in ICU
thelancet.comWhether antibiotic rotation strategies reduce prevalence of antibiotic-resistant, Gram-negative bacteria in intensive care units (ICUs) has not been accurately established. We aimed to assess whether cycling of antibiotics compared with a mixing strategy (changing antibiotic to an alternative class for each consecutive patient) would reduce the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant, Gram-negative bacteria in European intensive care units (ICUs). Antibiotic cycling does not reduce the prevalence of carriage of antibiotic-resistant, Gram-negative bacteria in patients admitted to the ICU.