Skip to main content

IDSA: Antibiotics for Seven Days Feasible for Patients Hospitalized With Bloodstream Infections

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Oct 21, 2024.

via HealthDay

MONDAY, Oct. 21, 2024 -- Treating hospitalized patients with bloodstream infections with antibiotics for seven days is noninferior to treating for 14 days, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDWeek), held from Oct. 16 to 19 in Los Angeles.

Nick Daneman, M.D., and Rob Fowler, M.D., from the University of Toronto, and colleagues randomly assigned 3,608 hospitalized patients (ward and intensive care unit [ICU]) with bloodstream infections to receive seven- or 14-day (1,814 and 1,794 patients, respectively) antibiotic treatment.

The researchers reported that most infections were community-onset (75.4 percent), followed by hospital-acquired (13.4 percent) and ICU-acquired (11.2 percent). The urinary tract (42.2 percent), abdomen (18.8 percent), lung (13.0 percent), vascular catheters (6.3 percent), and skin or soft tissue (5.2 percent) were the most common bacteremia sources. Ninety-day mortality occurred in 14.5 percent of patients receiving seven-day and in 16.1 percent of patients receiving 14-day treatment, demonstrating noninferiority of shorter duration treatment. Noninferiority was confirmed in a per-protocol analysis (−2.0 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, −4.5 to 0.6). Findings were similar across secondary clinical outcomes and prespecified patient, pathogen, and syndrome subgroups.

"Finding strong evidence that supports shorter antibiotic treatment durations is a top priority to advance antimicrobial stewardship as drug-resistant bacteria are increasingly becoming a public health threat," Daneman said in a statement.

Press Release

More Information

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Association Found Between Home Mold, Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis

THURSDAY, July 17, 2025 -- Home mold, often attributed to chronic and/or recurring water intrusion, is associated with hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), according to a study...

Public Health Response Data Show Success of Standard Infection Control Measures for Dialysis

MONDAY, July 14, 2025 -- Adherence to standard dialysis infection prevention and control (IPC) measures enabled safe provision of dialysis to patients with Candida auris...

Early-Onset Neonatal Sepsis Linked to Childhood Epilepsy

FRIDAY, July 11, 2025 -- Early-onset neonatal sepsis and meningitis are associated with an increased risk for childhood epilepsy, according to a study published online July 7 in...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.