Factors associated with outcome and duration of therapy in outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) patients with skin and soft-tissue infections

Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy: its delivery in the community

Fifteen years ago, only a small minority of hospital inpatients were considered suitable for outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) services (Wiselka and Nicholson, 1997). Now almost 70% of those treated with intravenous antibiotics as hospital inpatients are considered suitable (Hitchcock et al, 2009). In total, 38-53% percent of those requiring OPAT are able to self-administer (Hills et al, 2012). The demand for intravenous antimicrobial therapy is increasing and the way it is being delivered is changing. This article examines service models, setting up services and developing staff to enable them to deliver OPAT services.

Risk factors for failure of outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) in infective endocarditis

Objectives

To identify risk factors for failure of outpatient antibiotic therapy (OPAT) in infective endocarditis (IE).

Patients and methods

We identified IE cases managed at a single centre over 12 years from a prospectively maintained database. ‘OPAT failure’ was defined as unplanned readmission or antibiotic switch due to adverse drug reaction or antibiotic resistance. We analysed patient and disease-related risk factors for OPAT failure by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. We also retrospectively collected follow-up data on adverse disease outcome (defined as IE-related death or relapse) and performed Kaplan–Meier survival analysis up to 36 months following OPAT.

Results

We identified 80 episodes of OPAT in IE. Failure occurred in 25/80 episodes (31.3%). On multivariate analysis, cardiac or renal failure [pooled OR 7.39 (95% CI 1.84–29.66), P = 0.005] and teicoplanin therapy [OR 8.69 (95% CI 2.01–37.47), P = 0.004] were independently associated with increased OPAT failure. OPAT failure with teicoplanin occurred despite therapeutic plasma levels. OPAT failure predicted adverse disease outcome up to 36 months (P = 0.016 log-rank test).

Conclusions

These data caution against selecting patients with endocarditis for OPAT in the presence of cardiac or renal failure and suggest teicoplanin therapy may be associated with suboptimal OPAT outcomes. Alternative regimens to teicoplanin in the OPAT setting should be further investigated.

Management of suspected Lyme borreliosis: experience from an outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy service

OBJECTIVES

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common human tick-borne infection in Europe and the USA. In this study we set out to analyse the outcome of patients treated for Lyme disease via outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) and the appropriateness of this treatment using current guidelines.

METHODS

This was a retrospective review of all patients with suspected LB managed via OPAT in Glasgow in 2000-11.

RESULTS

Of 72 patients treated for suspected LB, 35 patients (49%) were treated in accordance with guidelines and 36 (50%) were treated with no specific guidelines. A definite improvement was seen in 20 patients (28%). Adverse reactions were documented in 29 (40%) patients with neutropenia, and mild liver function derangement was most commonly observed.

CONCLUSION

These results show the complexity of translating well-substantiated regimens from clinical trials to actual clinical practice. OPAT was an effective way of administering parenteral therapy for Lyme disease but should not be undertaken lightly due to the rate of adverse events and low rates of success in certain patient groups seen in this study. In view of this, stricter criteria for inclusion to OPAT in line with published guidance should be applied to minimize patient harm and optimize success.

[Daptomycin in outpatient antimicrobial parenteral therapy]

Daptomycin is a cyclic lipopeptide with a rapid bactericidal effect against Gram-positive bacteria. The pharmacokinetic properties of this drug allow once-daily intravenous infusion as the best posology (including a 2-minute bolus). Because of its ease of administration and excellent safety profile, daptomycin is a first-line agent for use as outpatient antimicrobial parenteral therapy (OPAT). The best evidence supporting this indication exists for the treatment of complicated and uncomplicated skin and soft tissue infections, as well as osteoarticular infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria. For the remaining indications, the use of daptomycin as OPAT should be analyzed in each patient. Information from the EUCORE Registry in Spain indicates that daptomycin has high rates of treatment success in both hospitalized patient and in those included in OPAT programs.

Emergency medicine and hospital medicine: a call for collaboration

BACKGROUND

In the United States, emergency physicians and hospitalists are increasingly responsible for managing hospitalized patients. These specialists share a common practice space and similar shift work schedules. Together they govern decisions about use of the most expensive care setting in medicine-the hospital.

DISCUSSION

Unfortunately, in most institutions there is little collaboration between emergency physicians and hospitalists, resulting in missed opportunities to improve the quality of care and reduce its cost. In this call to action, we challenge emergency physicians and hospitalists to work together to develop protocols for consistent, evidence-based, and expeditious care of patients admitted from the ED; to collaborate in the care of ED patients who can safely be discharged home; to pursue joint quality, hospital leadership, and cost-effectiveness projects; to work in partnership to assure adequate staffing of hospital-based specialists; and to cooperate in the professional, front-line assessment of clinically and fiscally driven policies aimed at assessing the appropriateness of hospital admissions and readmissions.

SUMMARY

Hospital care is increasingly driven by emergency physicians and hospitalists. We envision a vital role for ongoing collaboration between them in achieving the goals of patient care, education, and quality and safety outcomes.

Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy with ceftriaxone, a review

BACKGROUND

More than 30 years since it was developed for clinical use, the third-generation cephalosporin ceftriaxone remains the most commonly used agent for outpatient parental antimicrobial therapy (OPAT). Recent antimicrobial stewardship programmes have tended to restrict ceftriaxone use in hospitals to control antibiotic resistance and outbreaks of Clostridium difficle infection (CDI). Considering the expansion of OPAT programmes both in the UK and worldwide, revisiting the role of ceftriaxone in OPAT in the context of changing antimicrobial prescribing practices is timely.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

To identify the evidence base for OPAT, review current and historical data on indications for, and safety of ceftriaxone within the OPAT setting, and to provide some perspectives on the future role of ceftriaxone.

METHOD

We searched PubMed and Scopus for articles published in English, and hand searched reference lists. We also conducted a complementary descriptive analysis of prospectively acquired data on the use of ceftriaxone in more than 1,300 OPAT episodes over a 10-year period in our UK centre.

RESULTS

Ceftriaxone has an excellent safety profile in the OPAT setting, and its broad spectrum of activity makes it an established agent in a wide range of clinical infection syndromes, such as skin and soft-tissue infection, bone and joint infection, streptococcal endocarditis and several others. Intriguingly, in contrast to the inpatient setting, liberal use of ceftriaxone in OPAT has not been strongly linked to CDI, suggesting additional patient and environmental factors may be important in mediating CDI risk.

Emergency medicine and hospital medicine: a call for collaboration

BACKGROUND

In the United States, emergency physicians and hospitalists are increasingly responsible for managing hospitalized patients. These specialists share a common practice space and similar shift work schedules. Together they govern decisions about use of the most expensive care setting in medicine--the hospital.

DISCUSSION

Unfortunately, in most institutions there is little collaboration between emergency physicians and hospitalists, resulting in missed opportunities to improve the quality of care and reduce its cost. In this call to action, we challenge emergency physicians and hospitalists to work together to develop protocols for consistent, evidence-based, and expeditious care of patients admitted from the ED; to collaborate in the care of ED patients who can safely be discharged home; to pursue joint quality, hospital leadership, and cost-effectiveness projects; to work in partnership to assure adequate staffing of hospital-based specialists; and to cooperate in the professional, front-line assessment of clinically and fiscally driven policies aimed at assessing the appropriateness of hospital admissions and readmissions.

SUMMARY

Hospital care is increasingly driven by emergency physicians and hospitalists. We envision a vital role for ongoing collaboration between them in achieving the goals of patient care, education, and quality and safety outcomes.

Good practice recommendations for outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) in adults in the UK: a consensus statement

These good practice recommendations for outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) are an update to a previous consensus statement on OPAT in the UK published in 1998. They are based on previous national and international guidelines, but have been further developed through an extensive consultation process, and are underpinned by evidence from published literature on OPAT. They provide pragmatic guidance on the development and delivery of OPAT services, looking at all aspects of service design, care delivery, outcome monitoring and quality assurance, with the aim of ensuring that OPAT services provide high-quality, low-risk care, whatever the healthcare setting. They will provide a useful resource for teams developing new services, as well as a practical set of quality indicators for existing services.