Abstract:
Background: Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) is increasingly used for complex infections, but data from settings with high prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) are limited.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of patients treated with OPAT in two tertiary-care hospitals in Southern Italy between 2024 and 2025.
Results: Among 119 patients, 51.2% had MDRO infections. Clinical recovery was achieved in 98/109 (89.9%) patients, with low rates of relapse (11/109, 10.1%), hospital readmission (19/109, 17.4%), and adverse events. Recovery, relapse, adverse events, and hospital readmission rates appeared similar between MDRO and non-MDRO groups, and no statistically significant differences were found.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that OPAT may be safely and effectively delivered in high-MDRO-prevalence settings when provided within structured, specialist-led hospitals, but it should be interpreted with caution due to the limited sample size and reduced statistical power. The study primarily contributes a detailed characterization of feasibility and stewardship challenges rather than a definitive efficacy comparison, which requires future prospective studies.
Reference:Ciusa G, Pipitone G, Catania B, Coniglione G, Goad M, Imburgia C, Scordo P, Albanese A, Cascio A, Iaria C. Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy in a Setting with High Prevalence of Multidrug Resistance: Challenges, Opportunities, and Stewardship Considerations. Antibiotics (Basel). 2026 Jun 10;15(6):594. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics15060594. PMID: 42353718; PMCID: PMC13296137.
