Presenters
Samir Shah, MD, MSCE
Session summary
Antibiotic stewardship is more than narrowing coverage once susceptibilities are available. It also means conversion of antibiotics to oral therapy when clinically appropriate.
Previously, many childhood infections were treated with IV therapy due to severity or concern that oral absorption delayed or limited response. Multiple studies have shown that early conversion is not only safe, but safer than prolonging IV therapy. At HM 17, we had the opportunity to hear from Samir Shah, MD, about the current literature that supports safe transitions to oral therapy, including the “when” and the “how.”
Terminology for conversion to oral therapy should not state that it is “step-down” therapy, but rather switch therapy or sequential therapy. This conversion reduces likelihood of treatment complications, reduces length of hospital stay, reduces nursing and pharmacy time, decreases discomfort for the patient, and reduces cost.
Antibiotics such as levofloxacin, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, and metronidazole have excellent bioavailability when taken orally. Other commonly used IV medications such as ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, and cefazolin can be substituted with amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and cephalexin, which have similar penetration characteristics.
In general, unless there are serious complications, such as endocarditis and meningitis, most patients should be switched to oral therapy as soon as clinically warranted to complete therapy. For example, the incidence of meningitis in patients less than 1 month of age with UTI is 1%-2% and the incidence of meningitis in those 1-2 months of age is 0.3%-0.5%. Therefore, these patients can be treated with oral therapy earlier in their course when meningitis is not suspected. The likelihood of endocarditis in a pediatric patient without a known heart lesion is very low, even in patients with repeat positive blood cultures, unlike our adult colleagues who have much higher incidence of endocarditis in bacteremic patients.
Further studies are emerging to help reduce total length of therapy for many bacterial infections. For example, good evidence now exists that skin and soft tissue infections can now be treated safely with 5-day courses.
Dr. Klint Schwenk
As pediatric hospitalists, we are tasked to be stewards reducing harm and minimizing costs. Early conversion to oral antibiotics should be considered best practice in most pediatric bacterial infections.
Key takeaways for HM
• Transition to oral therapy earlier in the hospital course is justified and much safer than IV therapy.
• Conversion to oral antibiotic therapy reduces the likelihood of treatment complications, length of hospital stay, nursing time, pharmacy time, discomfort to the patient, and costs.
• Do not use the term “step-down” when referencing a transition to oral therapy.
• Oral therapy is effective in most bacterial infections in children except for meningitis and endocarditis.
• Levofloxacin, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, and metronidazole have excellent bioavailability when taken orally and can be easily swapped for IV therapy.
Dr. Schwenk is a pediatric hospitalist at Norton Children’s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville (Ky.), and a member of the Pediatrics Committee for SHM.