Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34654462›Full record

ReviewCritical care (London, England)2021

Timing of antibiotic therapy in the ICU.

Marin H Kollef, Andrew F Shorr, Matteo Bassetti, Jean-Francois Timsit, Scott T Micek, Andrew P Michelson, Jose Garnacho-Montero

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Critical care (London, England), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
94citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
14.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

94 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 142 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Diagnostic value of [European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Hour-1 Sepsis Bundle: Updated Evidence.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. ASP-COMPLEX: redefining antimicrobial stewardship to improve outcomes in high-risk patients with severe infections.Revista espanola de quimioterapia : publicacion oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Quimioterapia · 2026
    Review
  14. Challenges and opportunities in the management of severe pneumonia. Key concepts from the Seventh Annual Meeting of Spanish Experts 2025.Revista espanola de quimioterapia : publicacion oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Quimioterapia · 2026
    Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Time to Initiation of Antibiotic Therapy in Critically Ill Patients with Suspected Sepsis and Its Effect on Intensive Care Unit Mortality: Analysis Using Bayesian Approach.Indian journal of critical care medicine : peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine · 2026
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Methicillin-ResistantMicroorganisms · 2026
    Review
  20. Bloodstream Infections Due to Carbapenemase-ProducingAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Review

34 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.

Marin H KollefDivision of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, MSC 8052-43-14, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA. kollefm@wustl.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-0671-0751
Andrew F ShorrPulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Medstar Washington Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
Matteo BassettiInfectious Diseases Unit, Department of Health Sciences, San Martino Policlinico Hospital - IRCCS, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Jean-Francois TimsitAP-HP, Bichat Claude Bernard Hospital, Medical and Infectious Diseases ICU (MI2), IAME, INSERM, Université de Paris, Paris, France.
Scott T MicekDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Andrew P MichelsonDivision of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, MSC 8052-43-14, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
Jose Garnacho-MonteroIntensive Care Clinical Unit, University Hospital Virgen Macarena, Seville, Spain.
Washington University in St. Louis · USHospital Universitario Virgen Macarena · ESOspedale Policlinico San Martino · ITUniversité Claude Bernard Lyon 1 · FRUniversity of Health Sciences and Pharmacy · USWashington Hospital · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Severe or life threatening infections are common among patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Most infections in the ICU are bacterial or fungal in origin and require antimicrobial therapy for clinical resolution. Antibiotics are the cornerstone of therapy for infected critically ill patients. However, antibiotics are often not optimally administered resulting in less favorable patient outcomes including greater mortality. The timing of antibiotics in patients with life threatening infections including sepsis and septic shock is now recognized as one of the most important determinants of survival for this population. Individuals who have a delay in the administration of antibiotic therapy for serious infections can have a doubling or more in their mortality. Additionally, the timing of an appropriate antibiotic regimen, one that is active against the offending pathogens based on in vitro susceptibility, also influences survival. Thus not only is early empiric antibiotic administration important but the selection of those agents is crucial as well. The duration of antibiotic infusions, especially for β-lactams, can also influence antibiotic efficacy by increasing antimicrobial drug exposure for the offending pathogen. However, due to mounting antibiotic resistance, aggressive antimicrobial de-escalation based on microbiology results is necessary to counterbalance the pressures of early broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy. In this review, we examine time related variables impacting antibiotic optimization as it relates to the treatment of life threatening infections in the ICU. In addition to highlighting the importance of antibiotic timing in the ICU we hope to provide an approach to antimicrobials that also minimizes the unnecessary use of these agents. Such approaches will increasingly be linked to advances in molecular microbiology testing and artificial intelligence/machine learning. Such advances should help identify patients needing empiric antibiotic therapy at an earlier time point as well as the specific antibiotics required in order to avoid unnecessary administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsHumansIntensive Care UnitsTime FactorsAnti-Bacterial AgentsAntibioticsOutcomesPneumoniaSepsisTiming

Identifiers

PMID34654462
PMCPMC8518273
OpenAlexW3207639082

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.