Can Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics Be De-Escalated in Sepsis?

Infectious diseases specialist–assisted de-escalation of anti-infective treatment was possible in 43% of patients with severe sepsis.

In patients with severe sepsis, prompt initiation of appropriate antibiotic therapy — i.e., therapy involving an agent with activity against the causative pathogen — is associated with improved survival. International guidelines therefore recommend the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics for empirical treatment of patients with this condition. However, because broad-spectrum antibiotics can promote the emergence of resistance, a de-escalation strategy guided by microbiological results is advocated. In a retrospective study involving adults treated for severe nosocomial sepsis in an intensive care unit in 2007, researchers in Brussels, Belgium, investigated the feasibility of such de-escalation.

Data were analyzed for 216 episodes in 169 patien…

Reviewing Author

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection