#VisualAbstract: Excess Antibiotic Treatment Duration and Adverse Events in Patients Hospitalized With Pneumonia

1. In this retrospective cohort study, excess days of antibiotic treatment were not associated with reduced adverse outcomes.

2. Patients who took prolonged doses of antibiotics beyond the shortest recommended dose in guidelines reported a greater number of adverse events.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

Study Rundown: Pneumonia affects a large proportion of patients each year and is a common reason for inpatient antibiotic use and overuse. The authors of this retrospective cohort study examined predictors and outcomes associated with excess duration of antibiotic treatment for pneumonia at 43 hospitals within the Michigan hospital Medicine Safety Consortium. The primary outcome examined was the rate of excess antibiotic treatment which was assessed by subtracting the shortest effective duration of antibiotics for the patient from the actual prescribed duration. Excess antibiotic treatment was associated with increased antibiotic-related adverse events without decrease in death, readmission, emergency department visits, or Clostridioides difficile infection. One of the study limitations was that based on the retrospective nature of this study, not all patients were able to be contacted to determine any 30-day outcomes.

Click to read the study in the Annals of Internal Medicine

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