Antibiotic treatment for 7 days versus 14 days in patients with uncomplicated bloodstream infections: a Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and trial sequential analysis
Meta-analysis found no differences in mortality between 7-day and 14-day antibiotic treatments for bloodstream infections, suggesting a shorter regime may be preferable.
Key Points
The meta-analysis included four randomized controlled trials involving 4,794 patients with bloodstream infections.
There were no significant differences in all-cause mortality or 90-day mortality between 7-day and 14-day antibiotic regimens.
The 7-day antibiotic regimen resulted in a shorter length of stay in the hospital compared to the 14-day regimen.
Further large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to validate the findings regarding antibiotic duration.