Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Observational Study Protocol for Repeated Clinical Examination and Critical Care Ultrasonography Within the Simple Intensive Care Studies
Published on: January 16, 2019
Intravenous-to-oral antibiotic switch therapy: a cross-sectional study in critical care units
Juliano Gasparetto1, Felipe Francisco Tuon2, Dayana Dos Santos Oliveira3
1School of Medicine, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
Background:
This study aimed to evaluate the oral switch (OS) stewardship intervention in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Methods:
This was a retrospective study with a convenience sample in two Brazilian ICUs from different hospitals in patients with sepsis receiving antibiotic therapy. The stewardship intervention included OS in patients diagnosed with sepsis when clinical stability was achieved. The primary outcome was overall mortality. Other variables evaluated were as follows: cost of antimicrobial treatment, daily costs of intensive care, acute kidney injury, and length of stay.
Results:
There was no difference in mortality between the OS and non-OS groups (p = 0.06). Length of stay in the ICU (p = 0.029) was shorter and acute kidney injury incidence (p = 0.032) and costs of antimicrobial therapy (p < 0.001) were lower in the OS group.
Conclusion:
OS stewardship programs in the ICU may be considered a safe strategy. Switch therapy reduced the cost and shortened the length of stay in ICUs.
Related Concept Videos
Cross-Sectional Research
Profile Leveling and Cross Sections
Spinal Cord: Cross-sectional Anatomy
Gray Matter and its Components
Central to the gray matter is...
Antibiotic Selection
Switching of BJT
Cut-off Mode ("Off" State): In this state, both the emitter-base and collector-base junctions are...
Imaging Studies V: Intravenous Urography and Retrograde Pyelography

