Study suggests 3-day antibiotic treatment course in hospitalized patients

Abstract

The “post antibiotic era” is not coming—it is already here. The ubiquity of lower respiratory tract infections makes community acquired pneumonia (CAP) an evident target in limiting antimicrobial exposure. Results from a new study, published in April 2021 in the Lancet by Dinh and colleagues, boasts success for patients with a 3-day CAP treatment course. The results provide more evidence to support guidance from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the American Thoracic Society (ATS), and the American College of Physicians (ACP) that shorter courses of therapy may be as effective as traditional-length courses.