Implications of infection and trends of antibiotic prescribing in hospitalized patients diagnosed with serious mental illness.

Hospital-acquired infections have been recognized as a significant factor in increased morbidity and mortality across our health system. Unique to infections associated with inpatient psychiatric hospitalization is the additional hypothesized association of the role that antipsychotic agents and/or underlying disease may play in an increased risk for infection. In this paper, we explore the types of infections diagnosed in an inpatient psychiatric hospital, the demographics of the patients infected, and whether or not the patient was on antipsychotic agents at the time of infection.