Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35612930›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy2022

Why we prescribe antibiotics for too long in the hospital setting: a systematic scoping review.

Robin M E Janssen, Anke J M Oerlemans, Johannes G Van Der Hoeven, Jaap Ten Oever, Jeroen A Schouten, Marlies E J L Hulscher

Open access · bronzeAbstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 17% 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

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Ethics of Antibiotic Course Duration: Shorter is Better.The American journal of bioethics : AJOB · 2026
    Article
  4. Methicillin-ResistantMicroorganisms · 2026
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. When to Stop Antibiotics in the Critically Ill?Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024
    Review
  9. [Antibiotic stewardship].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2023
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Robin M E JanssenDepartment of Intensive Care Medicine, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-8733-7295
Anke J M OerlemansScientific Center for Quality of Healthcare (IQ healthcare), Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Johannes G Van Der HoevenDepartment of Intensive Care Medicine, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Jaap Ten OeverRadboud Center for Infectious Diseases (RCI), Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-2397-0125
Jeroen A SchoutenDepartment of Intensive Care Medicine, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Marlies E J L HulscherScientific Center for Quality of Healthcare (IQ healthcare), Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Radboud University Nijmegen · NL

Funding

Investigator Initiated Studies Program of Merck Sharp & Dohme 58288
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn daily hospital practice, antibiotic therapy is commonly prescribed for longer than recommended in guidelines. Understanding the key drivers of prescribing behaviour is crucial to generate meaningful interventions to bridge this evidence-to-practice gap.

objectivesTo identify behavioural determinants that might prevent or enable improvements in duration of antibiotic therapy in daily practice.

methodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and Web of Science for relevant studies that were published between January 2000 and August 2021. All qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method studies in adults in a hospital setting that reported determinants of antibiotic therapy duration were included.

resultsTwenty-two papers were included in this review. A first set of studies provided 82 behavioural determinants that shape how health professionals make decisions about duration; most of these were related to individual health professionals' knowledge, skills and cognitions, and to professionals' interactions. A second set of studies provided 17 determinants that point to differences in duration regarding various pathogens, diseases, or patient, professional or hospital department characteristics, but do not explain why or how these differences occur.

conclusionsLimited literature is available describing a wide range of determinants that influence duration of antibiotic therapy in daily practice. This review provides a stepping stone for the development of stewardship interventions to optimize antibiotic therapy duration, but more research is warranted. Stewardship teams must develop complex improvement interventions to address the wide variety of behavioural determinants, adapted to the specific pathogen, disease, patient, professional and/or hospital department involved.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsHospitalsHealth PersonnelHumansAnti-Bacterial Agents

Identifiers

PMID35612930
PMCPMC9333408
OpenAlexW4282944781

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.