en Infectious Diseases Infectious Diseases Original Article Original Article <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Background</em></strong><em>:</em></span> Recently, antibiotic resistance rates have risen substantially and care for patients infected with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) has become a common problem in most in &ndash; and outpatient settings. The objectives of the study were to compare the awareness, perception, and knowledge of MDRO and rational antibiotic use between physicians from different medical specialties in German hospitals.<br> <span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Methods</em></strong><em>:</em></span> A 35-item questionnaire was sent to specialists in internal medicine (internists), gynecologists, urologists, and general surgeons (non-internists) in 18 German hospitals. Likert-scales were used to evaluate awareness and perception of personal performance regarding care for patients infected with MDRO and rational use of antibiotics. Additionally, two items assessing specific knowledge in antibiotic therapy were included. The impact of medical specialty on four predetermined endpoints was assessed by multivariate logistic regression.<br> <span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Results</em></strong><em>:</em></span> 43.0% (456/1061) of recipients responded. Both internists and non-internists had low rates of training in antibiotic stewardship. 50.8% of internists and 58.6% of non-internists had attended special training in rational antibiotic use or care for patients infected with MDRO in the 12 months prior to the study. Internists deemed themselves more confidently to choose the indications for screening patients for colonization with methicillin-resistant <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> (P=0.004) and to initiate adequate infection control measures (P=0.002) than other specialties. However, there was no significant difference between internists and other specialists regarding the two items assessing specific knowledge in antibiotic therapy and infection control.<br> <span style="color:#0000FF;"><strong><em>Conclusion</em></strong><em>:</em></span> Among the study participants, a considerable need for advanced training in the study subjects was seen, regardless of the medical specialty.</span></span><br> <p style="text-align: justify;"></p> Antibiotic Resistance, Antibiotic Policy, Antibiotic prescription, Multidrug Resistance, Urinary Tract Infection, Survey Study 132 141 http://caspjim.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1090-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Philipp J Spachmann philipp.spachmann@gmail.com 100319475328460016770 100319475328460016770 No Department of Urology; University of Regensburg, Caritas St. Josef Medical Center, 93053 Regensburg, Landshuter St.65, Germany Matthias May matthias.may@klinikum-straubing.de 100319475328460016771 100319475328460016771 Yes Department of Urology; St. Elisabeth Hospital; 94315 Straubing, St.-Elisabeth-Str. 23, Germany Malte W. Vetterlein 100319475328460016772 100319475328460016772 No Department of Urology; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf; 20246 Hamburg, Martinistr. 52, Germany Hans-Martin Fritsche 100319475328460016773 100319475328460016773 No Department of Urology; University of Regensburg, Caritas St. Josef Medical Center, 93053 Regensburg, Landshuter St.65, Germany Steffen Lebentrau 100319475328460016774 100319475328460016774 No Department of Urology and Pediatric Urology; Ruppiner Kliniken GmbH, Brandenburg Medical School; 16816 Neuruppin, Fehrbelliner Str. 38, Germany Martin Schostak 100319475328460016775 100319475328460016775 No Department of Urology and Pediatric Urology; Ruppiner Kliniken GmbH, Brandenburg Medical School; 16816 Neuruppin, Fehrbelliner Str. 38, Germany Florian M. Wagenlehner 100319475328460016776 100319475328460016776 No . Department of Urology, Pediatric Urology and Andrology; Justus-Liebig University; 35392 Gießen, Rudolf-Buchheim-Str. 7, Germany Maximilian Burger 100319475328460016777 100319475328460016777 No Department of Urology; University of Regensburg, Caritas St. Josef Medical Center, 93053 Regensburg, Landshuter St.65, Germany Karsten-Henrich Weylandt 100319475328460016778 100319475328460016778 No Department of Internal Medicine B, Ruppiner Kliniken GmbH, Brandenburg Medical School; 16816 Neuruppin, Fehrbelliner Str. 38, Germany Bernd Salzberger 100319475328460016779 100319475328460016779 No Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053, Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, Germany Sabine Brookman-May sabine.brookman-may@email.de 100319475328460016780 100319475328460016780 No Department of Urology; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf; 20246 Hamburg, Martinistr. 52, Germany Christian Gilfrich christian.gilfrich@klinikum-straubing.de 100319475328460016781 100319475328460016781 No Department of Urology; St. Elisabeth Hospital MR2 study group 100319475328460016782 100319475328460016782 No