Researchers reveal that a 7-day course of antibiotics is as effective as a 14-day course in treating certain blood infections.
- Prolonged antibiotic treatments are often considered a guarantee against relapses or antimicrobial resistance, but they can have adverse health consequences.
- A study shows that a 7-day course of antibiotics is as effective as a 14-day course in treating certain blood infections.
- Three months after treatment, 15% of patients in the 7-day group and 16% of those in the 14-day group had died. A small difference which shows that the short treatment is no less effective than the long treatment.
Do antibiotics always have to be administered over a long period of time to be effective? A new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicineseems to challenge this preconceived idea. Researchers demonstrate that a 7-day antibiotic treatment is as effective as a 14-day course in treating certain blood infections.
Similar rates of blood infection relapse
Carried out in several countries, this study included around 3,600 patients hospitalized for blood infections. These participants were randomly assigned to receive either a 7-day or 14-day course of antibiotics. The results are striking: three months after treatment, 15% of patients in the “7 days” group and 16% of those in the “14 days” group had died. “A small difference which shows that the short treatment is no less effective than the long treatment”can we read in a press release.
Another notable point: although 23% of patients in the “7 days” group received antibiotics for more than a week, the overall analysis confirms the effectiveness of the short treatment. Additionally, both groups had similar rates of infection relapse and infections with Clostridioides difficile, a bacteria feared for its serious side effects.
Towards better management of antibiotics?
Prolonged antibiotic treatments are often considered a guarantee against relapses or antimicrobial resistance. However, the authors of the study emphasize that unnecessarily prolonging these treatments can have harmful consequences: avoidable side effects, excessive costs and above all, an increased risk of developing antibiotic resistance.
In order to combine therapeutic effectiveness and risk reduction, researchers therefore invite health professionals to re-evaluate standard treatment durations and to consider more individualized approaches. If the trail of shortened treatments is confirmed, it could represent a major turning point for public health, protecting both patients and the effectiveness of antibiotics for future generations.
