- Source: Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy
Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) is used to administer non-oral antibiotics (usually intravenously) without the need for ongoing hospitalisation. OPAT is particularly useful for people who are not severely ill but do require a prolonged course of treatment that cannot be given in oral form. OPAT is being increasingly adopted as part of antimicrobial stewardship programs; it can reduce length of stay, costs and adverse events while improving quality of life. OPAT can be administered in an outpatient facility (including a provider's office, infusion center or day hospital) or at a patient's residence using an infusion pump, such as an elastomeric pump.
Common antimicrobials
Common antimicrobials used for continuous infusion are shown below:
Before starting beta-lactams and vancomycin infusion, it is advisable to administer a loading dose in order to reduce time to reach target concentrations