Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy in Germany: a prospective cohort study protocol

IntroductionOutpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) means intravenous administration of antibiotics outside the hospital. The antibiotics are administered at the patient’s home. The advantages are the shortening of the inpatient stay, which means that patients can remain in their familiar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ open 2022-11, Vol.12 (11), p.e061417-e061417
Main Authors: Scholten, Nadine, Leisse, Charlotte, Brandes, Vanessa, Oberröhrmann, Charlotte, Ihle, Peter, Peter, Sophie, Hagemeier, Anna, Hellmich, Martin, Lindemann, Christoph H., Samel, Christina, Pfaff, Holger, Lehmann, Clara
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibiotics
Antimicrobial agents
Cohort analysis
Cost benefit analysis
GENERAL MEDICINE (see Internal Medicine)
Health care expenditures
Health Services Research
Home health care
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Intravenous therapy
Organisation of health services
Quality in health care
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Summary:IntroductionOutpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) means intravenous administration of antibiotics outside the hospital. The antibiotics are administered at the patient’s home. The advantages are the shortening of the inpatient stay, which means that patients can remain in their familiar environment, the reduction of nosocomial infections as well as the reduction of hospital and therapy costs. Nevertheless, OPAT is rarely performed in Germany, despite its international application. Therefore, systematic data on OPAT are not available in Germany. The project objective is to investigate the medical care using OPAT under medical, epidemiological and economic aspects within the framework of the Cologne Network of Infectious Diseases.Methods and analysisObservational study with mixed-methods approach, qualitative analysis to identify physician-side factors to assess the attitude of general practitioners in Cologne with regard to possible implementation barriers of an OPAT. Longitudinal analysis of an OPAT patient cohort with respect to clinical and patient-relevant outcomes using descriptive and conclusive statistics.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Cologne, Germany (19-1284-1). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. The results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at one or more scientific conferences.Trial registration numberNCT04002453.
ISSN:2044-6055
2044-6055
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061417