C95-02 Short Antibiotic Courses Are Non-Inferior to Long Antibiotic Courses for Readmission Risk in Patients With Bacterial Tracheostomy-Associated Infections
Prospective cohort study evaluates readmission risk for bacterial infections in hospitalized children, suggesting shorter antibiotic treatment may be adequate.
Key Points
This research aims to determine if short antibiotic courses are as effective as long courses in preventing 30-day readmissions for bacterial tracheostomy-associated infections in children.
Conducted a prospective cohort study across six children's hospitals from 2020-2024.
Included patients under 21 years with a diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia or tracheitis treated with antibiotics.
Applied stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting to adjust for confounding factors. Adjusted outcomes analyzed using mixed effects logistic regression.
Thirty-day readmission rates were 8.4% in the short-course group versus 10.7% in the long-course group.
The absolute risk difference was -2.1% (95% CI: -6.0 to 1.9) for short versus long courses, meeting the non-inferiority margin of +3.5%.
Shorter antibiotic courses were more frequently given to children without certain comorbidities such as respiratory distress.