title: Short-course therapy for severe infections.
abstract: A short course of antimicrobial therapy should be the aim of all treatment unless otherwise indicated. Factors allowing short treatment courses are those that depend on the host, on the infection and on the agents administered. In essence, immunodeficiencies, long-standing infections, abscesses, or infections associated with foreign bodies cannot be treated with short-course therapies. Bactericidal antibiotics are the only agents suitable for short-course therapy. Many severe infections such as primary bacteraemia and bacteraemia complicating pneumonia, acute pyelonephritis and meningitis are amendable to short-course therapy, whilst others are not. The benefits of short-duration therapy are obvious and may contribute to halting resistance, reduced costs and rational patient management.
authors.affiliation: Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Ethan.Rubinstein@med.umanitoba.ca
authors.forename: Ethan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
authors.forename: Yoav
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Keynan
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents