Limiting antibiotic use is one of the most important measures to prevent and 
control emergence of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, antibiotics should 
usually only be prescribed for infection. Yet recent well-designed studies have 
demonstrated that prophylactic antibiotic use is of significant benefit to 
patients prone to developing infections. Study patients suffered from recurrent 
urinary tract infections, COPD or were mechanically ventilated in intensive care 
units. In the first 2 populations, use of antibiotics was associated with an 
increase in carriage of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but in intensive care 
patients the opposite was documented. These studies demonstrate that antibiotics 
do more than cause resistance. The pros and cons of prophylactic antibiotic use 
must therefore be carefully considered.