ArticleThe Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale2013
Duration of antibiotic therapy for critically ill patients with bloodstream infections: A retrospective cohort study.
Article in The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04291768 (Short Course Antibiotic Treatment of Gram-negative Bacteremia), which is not on this map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Short Course Antibiotic Treatment of Gram-negative Bacteremia: A Multicenter, Randomized, Non-blinded, Non-inferiority Interventional Study
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antimicrobial treatment for 7 versus 14 days in patients with bacteremia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Infection · 2025Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Antibiotic Treatment Duration for Bacteremia Due toAntimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2019Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Oral transition therapy versus intravenous therapy for the treatment of uncomplicated Enterococcal bloodstream infections.Infection · 2026Article
- Evaluating antimicrobial resistance and clinical outcomes in surgical ICU using a machine learning perspective: a retrospective observational study.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Observational
- Evaluation of Short Versus Long Courses of Antibiotics in Critically Ill Patients With Gram-Negative Bloodstream Infections.The Annals of pharmacotherapy · 2024Article
- Antibiotic Therapy Strategies for Treating Gram-Negative Severe Infections in the Critically Ill: A Narrative Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Short course antibiotic treatment of Gram-negative bacteraemia (GNB5): a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Antibiotic usage in a South African paediatric medical ward following the introduction of an antibiotic prescription chart.The Pan African medical journal · 2023Article
- Comparative-Effectiveness of Oral Beta-Lactams and Fluoroquinolones for Stepdown Therapy in Patients with Enterobacterales Bloodstream Infections: A Retrospective Cohort Study.International journal of medical sciences · 2023Article
- Korean Guidelines for Use of Antibiotics for Intra-abdominal Infections in Adults.Infection & chemotherapy · 2022Review
- Optimizing the Management of Uncomplicated Gram-Negative Bloodstream Infections: Consensus Guidance Using a Modified Delphi Process.Open forum infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Bacteremia Antibiotic Length Actually Needed for Clinical Effectiveness (BALANCE) randomised clinical trial: study protocol.BMJ open · 2020Article
- Methicillin-resistantIndian journal of critical care medicine : peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine · 2020Review
- Short- versus long-course therapy in gram-negative bacilli bloodstream infections.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2019Article
- The effect of a rapid molecular blood test on the use of antibiotics for nosocomial sepsis: a randomized clinical trial.Journal of intensive care · 2019Article
- Drug-mediated metabolic tipping between antibiotic resistant states in a mixed-species community.Nature ecology & evolution · 2018Article
- Clinical characteristics and prognosis of bacteraemia during postoperative intra-abdominal infections.Critical care (London, England) · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe optimal duration of antibiotic treatment for bloodstream infections is unknown and understudied.
methodsA retrospective cohort study of critically ill patients with bloodstream infections diagnosed in a tertiary care hospital between March 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011 was undertaken. The impact of patient, pathogen and infectious syndrome characteristics on selection of shorter (≤10 days) or longer (>10 days) treatment duration, and on the number of antibiotic-free days, was examined. The time profile of clinical response was evaluated over the first 14 days of treatment. Relapse, secondary infection and mortality rates were compared between those receiving shorter or longer treatment.
resultsAmong 100 critically ill patients with bloodstream infection, the median duration of antibiotic treatment was 11 days, but was highly variable (interquartile range 4.5 to 17 days). Predictors of longer treatment (fewer antibiotic-free days) included foci with established requirements for prolonged treatment, underlying respiratory tract focus, and infection with Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas species. Predictors of shorter treatment (more antibiotic-free days) included vascular catheter source and bacteremia with coagulase-negative staphylococci. Temperature improvements plateaued after the first week; white blood cell counts, multiple organ dysfunction scores and vasopressor dependence continued to decline into the second week. Among 72 patients who survived to 10 days, clinical outcomes were similar between those receiving shorter and longer treatment.
conclusionAntibiotic treatment durations for patients with bloodstream infection are highly variable and often prolonged. A randomized trial is needed to determine the duration of treatment that will maximize cure while minimizing adverse consequences of antibiotics.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.