Posted on 01/28/2024 9:50:28 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Less is also better—that is what researchers have found while conducting a tri-nation clinical trial to see if shorter courses of antibiotics are as effective as longer prescriptions of the drug to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia.
The four-year long study involved 460 patients. While personalized short-course treatment duration for patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was just as effective in comparison to the standard treatment duration, the short-course treatment strategy also successfully reduced antibiotic side effects from 38% to 8%.
VAP is a common lung infection among critically ill patients who are dependent on ventilators to breathe. The infection risk of death is as much as 40%. The study's findings serve as a point of reference for antibiotic usage reduction and titration.
The 460 patients with VAP were randomly assigned into two groups—a three-to-five day individualized, short-course antibiotic treatment plan, and a longer, standard-of-course treatment plan of a minimum eight days. The main aim was to determine if the individualized short-course strategy is non-inferior to the usual standard-of-care duration, in terms of the increased risk of death or the recurrence of pneumonia happening within 60 days of enrolling into the study. Of the 460 participants, 41% in the individualized short-course group and 44% in the standard-of-care group either died or had pneumonia recurrence.
Participants were reviewed daily to assess if they met the criteria to stop antibiotics. When the criteria were met, all participants in the short-course treatment strategy group were weaned off antibiotics after three to five days of receiving VAP treatment.
For patients in the standard care duration group, the antibiotic treatment strategy lasted at least eight days, as determined by their primary physicians. Current standard-of-care antibiotic treatment can last up to two to three weeks, accompanied by higher risks of side effects and unnecessary economic costs.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Busy weekend over at Medical Express, eh?
Putting someone on a ventilator is pretty much a death sentence.
No.
The military protocols are radically different than civilian protocols. The military’s works. The civilians keep screwing around.
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