Evaluation of Antimicrobial Therapy Duration for Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia Treatment.

Background: The Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends a 7-day duration of antimicrobial therapy for hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP); however, this recommendation is based on low-quality evidence. This recommendation is supported by evidence from ventilator-associated pneumonia clinical trials. Use of guideline-recommended antimicrobial durations is variable in clinical practice owing to the lack of literature available. Methods: This was a retrospective, cohort, single-center study. Adult patients admitted with a diagnosis of HAP and received at least 72 hours of antimicrobial therapy were included. The primary outcome was day 7 clinical stability in patients treated with standard (7 days) duration antimicrobial therapy. Secondary outcomes included hospital and intensive care unit length of stay (LOS), 30-day mortality, and 30-day hospital readmission rates. Results: Fifty-three patient encounters were identified. Thirty-two patients (60.4%) received standard duration (6 [4.5-7] days) antimicrobial therapy, and 21 patients (39.6%) received extended duration (14 [11-14] days) antimicrobial therapy (P

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