Extract:
“We observed that OPAT is a safe option for continuation of IV antibiotics. We noted genito-urinary infection as the most common indication and antibiotic for gram-negative infection were most commonly used. Vascular access related complications, antibiotic adverse events, readmissions related to infection were not noted. Death possibly due to infection occurred in 2 patients who had underlying CLD. OPAT in this group need to be carefully chosen and require close follow-up. In a previous study, referral to sub-acute rehabilitation care and loss of follow-up with ID physician were considered as risk factors for complications related to OPAT.4 Identifying risk factors may help in careful selection and planning of OPAT. Moreover, a structured ID-physician and nurse led OPAT program have shown good outcome in previous studies. In our study, OPAT resulted in cost saving. Indirect cost– benefits through improved efficiency of inpatient bed use by early discharge of patients and reduced rates of healthcare-associated infection need to be addressed and is scope for future study. Future research on OPAT should focus on understanding implementation barriers in resource limited settings and methods to overcome them, as it’s a low hanging fruit in a stewardship program with many benefits.”
Reference:Varghese AR, Ananthanarayanan R, Muhammed Niyas VK, Aloysius Parisavila W, Vishnu BS. Outcome of outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) program at a tertiary care hospital in India. Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol. 2025 Sep 5;5(1):e203. doi: 10.1017/ash.2025.10118. PMID: 40927240; PMCID: PMC12415784.