According to a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, switching therapies from continued intravenous (IV) to partial oral antibiotic resulted in equivalent treatment efficacy in patients with left-sided endocarditis. Patients with infective endocarditis are typically treated with IV antibiotic agents for up to a period of 6 weeks. While completing the IV antibiotic treatment during the initial phase of hospital admission, there is often a need for intensive care and close monitoring of the patients.
Furthermore, IV therapy during long hospital stays may be associated with an increased risk of complications. As an alternative to IV therapy, the safety and efficacy of oral antibiotics in stable endocarditis patients was evaluated in the present study. A total of 400 adults with left-sided endocarditis but in stable condition were randomized to either continue to IV…
