Shortcourse versus longcourse antibiotic treatment in patients with uncomplicated gramnegative bacteremia: A systematic review and metaanalysis, Journal of Clinical Pharmacy & Therapeutics 46(1): 173-180

What is known and objective: Gram ‐negative bacteremia remains a major health problem around the world. The optimal duration of antibiotic treatment has been poorly defined, and there are significant differences of opinion between clinicians. We conducted this systematic review and meta‐analysis to compare the clinical outcomes of short‐course and long‐course treatments in patients with uncomplicated gram‐negative bacteremia. Methods: We searched public databases (PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library) to identify eligible studies. The primary outcomes were all‐cause mortality and the incidence of recurrent bacteremi a through day 30. We used the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool to evaluate the risk of bias for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and the Newcastle‐Ottawa Scale for non‐RCTs. Results and discussion: Six studies involving 2689 patients were included in the systematic review and meta‐anal ysis. No significant difference was found between short‐course and long‐course antibiotic treatments in 30‐day mortality (risk ratio [RR] 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.65‐1.13; P =.26), 30‐day recurrent bacteremia (RR 1.07; 95% CI 0.68‐1.67; P =.78), 90‐day mortality (RR 0.84; 9 5% CI 0.57‐1.24; P =.38), 90‐day recurrent bacteremia (RR 0.98; 95% CI 0.50‐1.89; P =.94), adverse events (RR 1.14; 95% CI 0.89‐1.45; P =.30), Clostridium difficile infection (RR 0.86; 95% CI 0.40‐1.86; P =.71) or resistance development (RR 1.19; 95% CI...
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news