Subcutaneous and intravenous ceftriaxone administration in patients more than 75 years of age

We wanted to compare the first line intravenous administration of ceftriaxone to a subcutaneous administration in patients more than 75 years of age.

We performed a retrospective monocentric study on all patients more than 75 years of age admitted to the Ales hospital between January 1 and December 31, 2011, having received at least two doses of ceftriaxone intravenously (IV) or subcutaneously (SC).

One hundred and forty-eight patients (70 females/78 males patients) were included, 110 received ceftriaxone IV and 38 SC. They were a mean age of 84.7 years, older in the SC group (86.9 years) than in the IV group (83.9 years) (P = 0.0052). The SC group patients presented more frequently with dementia (57% vs. 25% P = 0.001), were more often bedridden (22% vs. 7% P = 0.023), had a higher mean World Health Organization status (3.13 vs. 2.76, P = 0.0181), and higher ADL score (7.79 vs. 5.76, P = 0.0056). There was no statistical difference for isolated bacteria, site of infection, death rate, and patients cured.

Subcutaneous ceftriaxone administration seems to be preferred for fragile elderly patients independently of disease severity. This administration is not associated to an impaired effectiveness or to an increased death rate.