Abstract:
Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) enables the outpatient treatment of patients requiring intravenous (IV) antibiotics who are clinically stable enough to safely receive this treatment at home.1 It facilitates earlier discharge and sometimes admission avoidance of patients and is an important antimicrobial stewardship tool. Delays to the discharge of OPAT-suitable patients can add to unnecessary hospital bed occupancy. This has gained particular relevance during the current COVID-19 pandemic which has caused increased demand for beds and risk of nosocomial COVID-19 acquisition.2 We recently conducted a study to assess factors delaying the discharge of hospital patients to OPAT services.
Reference:Staunton S, Rajendran D, Maher P, McCann J, McNicholas S, Feeney E, O’Broin C, Savinelli S, Mallon P, Watson A, Waqas S. Discharge-delaying factors for patients suitable for outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) in an Irish tertiary hospital during COVID-19. JAC Antimicrob Resist. 2021 Oct 14;3(4):dlab163. doi: 10.1093/jacamr/dlab163. PMID: 34661108; PMCID: PMC8516592.