Short-course therapy for severe infections.
Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2013 May 21;
Authors: Rubinstein E, Keynan Y
Abstract
A short course of antimicrobial therapy should be the aim of all treatment unless otherwise indicated. Factors allowing short treatment courses are those that depend on the host, on the infection and on the agents administered. In essence, immunodeficiencies, long-standing infections, abscesses, or infections associated with foreign bodies cannot be treated with short-course therapies. Bactericidal antibiotics are the only agents suitable for short-course therapy. Many severe infections such as primary bacteraemia and bacteraemia complicating pneumonia, acute pyelonephritis and meningitis are amendable to short-course therapy, whilst others are not. The benefits of short-duration therapy are obvious and may contribute to halting resistance, reduced costs and rational patient management.
PMID: 23706543 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]