The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · May 2018
Multicenter StudyA multicentre stewardship initiative to decrease excessive duration of antibiotic therapy for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia.
The increased emphasis on pneumonia-related performance measures and patient outcomes has led hospitals to implement multifaceted approaches to quickly identify patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), start timely therapy and reduce readmission. However, there has been minimal focus on duration of therapy (DOT) and patients often receive prolonged antibiotic courses. The IDSA and American Thoracic Society (IDSA/ATS) CAP guidelines recommend 5 days of therapy for clinically stable patients that quickly defervesce and stewardship teams are well positioned to influence prescribing practices. ⋯ This multicentre evaluation of a stewardship intervention in hospitalized CAP patients reduced the total antibiotic DOT and increased guideline-concordant DOT without adversely affecting patient outcomes.
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J. Antimicrob. Chemother. · May 2018
Serological response to therapy following retreatment of serofast early syphilis patients with benzathine penicillin.
Some syphilitic patients remain in a serologically positive state after the recommended therapy. Although we often retreat patients in clinical practice, the optimal treatment protocol remains uncertain due to the paucity of data regarding serological response to retreatment and long-term outcomes. ⋯ Our results suggest that the incremental benefit of retreating serofast patients with early syphilis is moderate, considering the almost 1:1 ratio of serological response to serofast state at follow-up.