Other measurements of antibiotic use that may be informative are the mean and median duration of antibiotic courses and the proportion of infants admitted to an NICU who ever received antibiotics. These measurements are probably most relevant for audit in an NICU where the case mix remains similar over time or for comparing different NICUs with similar patient case mix.

The above data only capture the extent and duration of antibiotic use. It may also be advisable to capture data on antibiotic days of broad spectrum antibiotic use, acknowledging that limited use of broad spectrum antibiotics may be necessary if there are concerns about antibiotic resistant organisms.

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