Patient selection criteria and management guidelines for outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy for native valve infective endocarditis

Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) for infective endocarditis (IE) is being applied widely, despite the absence of controlled data that demonstrates that outcomes are equivalent to those with standard inpatient antibiotic therapy. We review existing OPAT guidelines, published data on the timing of complications from IE, and data on risk factors that can be used to predict complications. These data are used to propose more stringent criteria for patient selection and clinical management of OPAT for native valve IE. We recommend a conservative approach (inpatient or daily outpatient follow-up) during the critical phase (weeks 0-2 of treatment), when complications are most likely, and we recommend consideration of OPAT for the continuation phase (weeks 2-4 or 2-6 of treatment) when life-threatening complications are less likely.