NEW YORK (AP) -- A new study suggests that doctors in many hospitals are unnecessarily prescribing multiple antibiotics for several days when just one would do the job.<br />
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Health officials say overuse of antibiotics is helping to breed dangerous bacteria that are increasingly resistant to treatment.<br />
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Faced with an unknown infection, hospital doctors often prescribe a couple of antibiotics. But once the bug is identified, doctors are supposed to drop any unnecessary second antibiotic.<br />
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The research found that didn't happen in three-quarters of the 500 hospitals included in the research.<br />
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the paper Wednesday. The authors call it the first national study to look at the issue.
