Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38387648›Full record

ArticleChest2024

Anaerobic Antibiotic Coverage in Aspiration Pneumonia and the Associated Benefits and Harms: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Anthony D Bai, Siddhartha Srivastava, Geneviève C Digby, Vincent Girard, Fahad Razak, Amol A Verma

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Chest, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Prevention of bronchopulmonary aspiration in digestive surgery: the impact of training healthcare professionals.Arquivos brasileiros de cirurgia digestiva : ABCD = Brazilian archives of digestive surgery · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Risk Factors forAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    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.

Anthony D BaiDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. Electronic address: tony.bai@queensu.ca.
Siddhartha SrivastavaDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Geneviève C DigbyDivision of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Vincent GirardInternal Medicine Residency Program, Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Fahad RazakDepartment of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Amol A VermaDepartment of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAntibiotics with extended anaerobic coverage are used commonly to treat aspiration pneumonia, which is not recommended by current guidelines. RESEARCH QUESTION: In patients admitted to hospital for community-acquired aspiration pneumonia, does a difference exist between antibiotic therapy with limited anaerobic coverage (LAC) vs antibiotic therapy with extended anaerobic coverage (EAC) in terms of in-hospital mortality and risk of Clostridioides difficile colitis? STUDY DESIGN AND

methodsWe 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 aspiration pneumonia and prescribed guideline-concordant first-line community-acquired pneumonia parenteral antibiotic therapy to the patient within 48 h of admission. Patients then were categorized into the LAC group if they received ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, or levofloxacin. Patients were categorized into 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 in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included incident C difficile colitis occurring after admission. Overlap weighting of propensity scores was used to balance baseline prognostic factors.

resultsThe LAC and EAC groups included 2,683 and 1,316 patients, respectively. In hospital, 814 patients (30.3%) and 422 patients (32.1%) in the LAC and EAC groups died, respectively. C difficile colitis occurred in five or fewer patients (≤ 0.2%) and 11 to 15 patients (0.8%-1.1%) in the LAC and EAC groups, 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%-1.7%) for C difficile colitis.

interpretationWe found that extended anaerobic coverage likely is unnecessary in aspiration pneumonia because it was associated with no additional mortality benefit, only an increased risk of C difficile colitis.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsHospital MortalityPneumonia, AspirationAgedAged, 80 and overBacteria, AnaerobicClostridioides difficileClostridium InfectionsCommunity-Acquired InfectionsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedOntarioRetrospective StudiesAnti-Bacterial Agentsantibiotic treatmentaspiration pneumoniamortality

Identifiers

PMID38387648
PMCPMC11251078

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.