Identification of Patient Characteristics Associated With Rapid Clinical Response in Hospitalized Patients With Skin and Soft Tissue Infections

Abstract

Background. Patients with moderate-to-severe skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) frequently require hospitalization for intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy. The approval of once-weekly IV antibiotics (dalbavancin and oritavancin) offer convenient treatment options that could be administered in the emergency department or infusion center. However, limited data is available describing the appropriate patient population that could benefit from outpatient once-weekly antibiotic therapy as a mechanism to avoid hospitalization. The objective of this study was to determine patient characteristics associated with rapid clinical response (defined as hospitalization <55 years, nonpurulent SSTI, and c-reactive protein (CRP) <5 mg/dL. Conclusion. Age <55 years old, CRP <5 mg/dL and nonpurulent SSTI were factors associated with rapid clinical response in patients requiring hospitalization for SSTIs, which may benefit from treatment with once-weekly IV antibiotic therapy as a mechanism to avoid hospitalization.