Antibiotic Courses:
There were a total number of 133 different intravenous antibiotic regimes given as treatment of NOE to this patient cohort. Mean number of intravenous antibiotic regimes per patient is 2.1. 41% received one antibiotic regime for the duration of treatment, 24% received two different antibiotic regimes, 22% received three different antibiotic regimes and 13% received four or five different antibiotic regimes.
A further 13 of the 63 patients (21%) went on to complete the full treatment with oral antibiotics. The mean total days of treatment with intravenous antibiotics was 82.1 days (SD ±53.3; median 67 days, range 266 days)
The mean duration of treatment in patients requiring one antibiotic regime, 61.1 days was significantly shorter (p=0.024) than those requiring two or more different antibiotic regimes, mean of 97.7 days.
When comparing risk factors; age was similar between the two groups (p=0.770). Diabetes (p<0.001) and insulin use (p<0.001) were significantly higher in patients requiring two or more different antibiotic regimes. There was no correlation or significant association between the Charlson Comorbidity Index and the number of courses required (p=0.093) or duration of treatment (p=0.158).