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Updated: Jun 23, 2025
A Novel Method to Determine the Longitudinal Antibacterial Activity of Drug-Eluting Materials
Published on: March 3, 2023
Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) through elastomeric continuous infusion pumps in a real-life
Gabriele Giuliano1, Domenico Tarantino2, Enrica Tamburrini3
1UOC Malattie Infettive, Dipartimento di Scienze di Laboratorio e Infettivologiche, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Roma, Italy; UOC Malattie Infettive e Tropicali, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Senese, Siena, Italy.
Introduction:
This study aimed to present real-life data on the use, efficacy, and safety of administering antibiotic therapy through portable elastomeric pumps (pEP) in the outpatient setting.
Methods:
This retrospective observational cohort study was conducted from January 2020 to May 2023 in a large academic hospital in Rome, Italy. All patients receiving antibiotic therapy via pEP were included up to a follow-up period of 90 days after the end of antibiotic therapy. The primary outcome was the treatment response. Secondary endpoints were adverse events attributable to the drug administered, the vascular catheter, or the infection itself.
Results:
Of the 490 patients referred to our outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) unit, 94 (19.2%) received antibiotic therapy via pEP and were included in the final analysis. The most frequently treated infections were those involving bone and prosthetics, including spondylodiscitis (n=27; 28.8%). Most infections were due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=55; 48.3%). Cefepime (n=32; 34.0%), piperacillin/tazobactam (n=29; 30.9%), ceftolozane/tazobactam (n=7; 7.5%), and oxacillin (n=7; 7.5%) were the most frequently administered antibiotics. The infection cure rate reached 88.3% (n=83). 12 patients (12.8%) reported adverse events, of which half (6.4%) were drug-related and half (6.4%) were line-related.
Conclusions:
OPAT through portable elastomeric infusion pumps proved to be safe and effective. It also contributed to the reduction of healthcare costs, fully respecting the principles of personalized medicine. This strategy has emerged as a promising tool for antibiotic stewardship and infection control.
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