Chest. 2024 Feb 20:S0012-3692(24)00260-5. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2024.02.025. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Antibiotics with extended anaerobic coverage are commonly used to treat aspiration pneumonia, which is not recommended by current guidelines.
RESEARCH QUESTION: In patients admitted to hospital for community-acquired aspiration pneumonia, is there a difference between antibiotic therapy with limited anaerobic coverage (LAC) versus antibiotic therapy with extended anaerobic coverage (EAC) in terms of in-hospital mortality and risk of Clostridioides difficile colitis?
METHODS: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study across 18 hospitals in Ontario, Canada from January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2022. Patients were included if the physician diagnosed the patient with aspiration pneumonia and prescribed guideline-concordant first-line community-acquired pneumonia parenteral antibiotic therapy within 48 hours of admission. Patients were then categorized into LAC group if they received ceftriaxone, cefotaxime or levofloxacin. Patients were in the EAC group if they received amoxicillin-clavulanate, moxifloxacin, or any of ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, or levofloxacin in combination with clindamycin or metronidazole. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality in hospital. Secondary outcomes included incident C. difficile colitis occurring after admission. Overlap weighting of propensity scores was used to balance baseline prognostic factors.
RESULTS: There were 2,683 and 1,316 patients in the LAC and EAC group respectively. In hospital, 814 (30.3%) and 422 (32.1%) patients in the LAC and EAC group died respectively. C. difficile colitis occurred in 5 or less (≤0.2%) and 11 to 15 (0.8% to 1.1%) patients in the LAC and EAC group respectively. After overlap weighting of propensity scores, the adjusted risk difference of EAC minus LAC was 1.6% (95% CI -1.7% to 4.9%) for in-hospital mortality and 1.0% (95% CI 0.3% to 1.7%) for C. difficile colitis.
INTERPRETATION: Extended anaerobic coverage is likely unnecessary in aspiration pneumonia because it is associated with no additional mortality benefit, only an increased risk of C. difficile colitis.
PMID:38387648 | DOI:10.1016/j.chest.2024.02.025