Objectives: To determine the effect of early conversion to oral antibiotics in infants ≤90 days with gram-negative bacteremia and concomitant urinary tract infection on hospital length of stay (LOS) and 30-day revisits for urinary tract infection.
Design: This retrospective cohort study included infants ≤ 90 days who had concomitant positive blood and urine cultures with gram-negative bacteremia at 22 hospitals from January 1, 2002 through January 31, 2020. Early oral conversion was defined as a maximum intravenous (IV) duration of 4 days. We conducted a noninferiority test to compare early oral conversion to long IV therapy. A propensity score framework was used to assess comparisons in survey-weighted regression models using matched weights.
Results: Among 174 infants, 73 infants received early oral conversion. The LOS was shorter in infants receiving early oral conversion compared to long IV therapy (median 2 days [interquartile range 2, 3] vs 4 days [3, 5]), descriptively (P < .001) and in noninferiority analysis (ratio = 0.43; 90% CI 0.35, 0.53, P < .001). Thirty-day revisits occurred in 5 of 174 (2.8%) of total patients. Early oral conversion did not meet our noninferiority criteria for the 30-day revisits (odds ratio: 4.22, 90%; confidence interval: 0.83, 21.34, P = .91).
Conclusions: Early oral conversion was associated with shorter LOS. The rate of 30-day revisit rates overall was low.
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