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).