Evidence Hub

Oral Fluoroquinolone or Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole vs ß-Lactams as Step-Down Therapy for Enterobacteriaceae Bacteremia: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Chitra Deepak Punjabi, Vivian Tien, Lina Meng, Stan C. Deresinski, Marisa K. Holubar

Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2019

2,289 participants · 78 citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Using published data, we sought to compare outcomes in patients transitioned to either oral fluoroquinolones (FQ) or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) versus ß-lactams (BL's) after an initial intravenous (IV) course for gram-negative rod (GNR) bacteremia. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of PubMed and EMBASE and published IDWeek abstracts. We included studies that reported all-cause mortality and/or infection recurrence in patients transitioned to oral FQ/TMP-SMX and BL's. RESULTS: Eight retrospective studies met inclusion criteria with data for 2,289 patients, of whom 65% were transitioned to oral FQ, 7.7% to TMP-SMX, and 27.2% to BL's. Follow up periods ranged from 21 to 90 days. All-cause mortality was not significantly different between patients transitioned to either FQ/TMP-SMX or BL's (OR 1.13; 95%CI, 0.69-1.87). Overall recurrence of infection, either bacteremia or the primary site, occurred more frequently in patients transitioned to oral BL's vs. FQ's (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.17 to 3.61). Analysis limited to recurrent bacteremia was similarly suggestive although limited by small numbers (OR 2.32, 95% CI 0.99 to 5.44). However, based on known pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, prescribed ß-lactam dosing regimens were frequently suboptimal. CONCLUSIONS: In the step-down IV to oral treatment of GNR bacteremia, we found insufficient data regarding outcomes after oral TMP-SMX; however, selection of a FQ over commonly utilized ß-lactam regimens may…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 2,289 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free