Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · May 2003
Clinical TrialThe influence of inadequate empirical antimicrobial treatment on patients with bloodstream infections in an intensive care unit.
To determine the occurrence of inadequate antimicrobial therapy among critically ill patients with bacteremia and the factors associated with it, to identify the microorganisms that received inadequate antimicrobial treatment, and to determine the relationship between inadequate treatment and patients outcome. ⋯ Almost a quarter of critically ill patients with bloodstream infections were given inadequate empirical antibiotic treatment, but mortality was not higher in the group with inadequate treatment than in the group with adequate treatment. This fact was probably due to microbiological factors and clinical features, such as the type of microorganism most frequently isolated and the source of the bacteremia.