Early clinical assessment of response to treatment of skin and soft-tissue infections: How can it help clinicians? Perspectives from Europe

Dilip Nathwani (Lead / Corresponding author), Matthew Dryden, Javier Garau

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    36 Citations (Scopus)
    244 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) are a common indication for antibiotic use in Europe and are associated with considerable morbidity. Treatment of SSTIs, occasionally complicated by infection with meticillin-resistant . Staphylococcus aureus, can be resource intensive and lead to high healthcare costs. For patients treated in an inpatient setting, once the acute infection has been controlled, a patient may be discharged on suitable oral antibiotic therapy or outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy. The recently confirmed efficacy of single-dose (e.g. oritavancin) and two-dose (e.g. dalbavancin) infusion therapies as well as tedizolid phosphate, a short-duration therapy available both for intravenous (i.v.) and oral use, for treating SSTIs has highlighted the need for clinicians to re-evaluate their current treatment paradigms. In addition, recent clinical trial data reporting a novel endpoint of early clinical response, defined as change in lesion size at 48-72 h, may be of value in determining which patients are most suitable for early de-escalation of therapy, including switch from i.v. to oral antibiotics, and subsequent early hospital discharge. The aim of this paper is to review the potential impact of assessing clinical response on clinical decision-making in the management of SSTIs in Europe, with a focus on emerging therapies.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)127-136
    Number of pages10
    JournalInternational Journal of Antimicrobial Agents
    Volume48
    Issue number2
    Early online date25 May 2016
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2016

    Keywords

    • Antibiotic treatment
    • Clinical assessment
    • Early discharge
    • Skin and soft-tissue infection

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Microbiology (medical)
    • Infectious Diseases
    • Pharmacology (medical)

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