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. 2023 Mar;53(2):104642.
doi: 10.1016/j.idnow.2023.01.002. Epub 2023 Jan 13.

Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) from an emergency model applied during the COVID-19 pandemic to standard of care: Preliminary lessons from our experience

G Giuliano  1 , F Raffaelli  2 , D Faliero  2 , E Tamburrini  3 , D Tarantino  4 , M C Nurchis  5 , G Scoppettuolo  2
Affiliations

Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) from an emergency model applied during the COVID-19 pandemic to standard of care: Preliminary lessons from our experience

G Giuliano et al. Infect Dis Now. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: We wish to report on our experience of OPAT during the first two years of the COVID19 outbreak.

Patients and methods: We recorded data on all patients treated in the OPAT regimen in 2020 and 2021 and compared overall trends, use of carbapenems and saved days of hospitalization.

Results: The OPAT model enabled us to ensure the administration of first choice antibiotic therapy to 239 patients with an increase of 21.3% from 2020 to 2021 (108 vs 131). Applying this model, we also recorded a reduction in the use of carbapenems from 33% in 2020 to 26% in 2021 and a total of 3041 recovery days saved in 2021.The clinical cure rate reached 94%. Few adverse events occurred (35/239; 14.6%), and they did not require hospitalization.

Conclusion: OPAT is a safe, efficacious, and cost-effective model that functioned effectively during the COVID-19 crisis and could become the standard of care for the treatment of selected patients.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Antimicrobial stewardship; Carbapenems; MDR; OPAT.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Patients treated in OPAT and percentage of those who received therapy with ertapenem per year.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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