Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) at home in Attica, Greece

Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) is considered to be a cost-effective and safe alternative treatment strategy to hospitalization. We retrospectively evaluated data regarding the demographic and treatment characteristics of patients that sought medical advice from a network of physicians performing house-call visits and who received OPAT at home during a 17-month period (May 2009 to September 2010) in Attica, Greece. A total of 91 patients (69.2 % females) received intravenous antibiotic therapy at home during the evaluated period. The mean age [± standard deviation (SD)] of the patients was 85.3 (± 9) years. The main indications were pneumonia [46 patients (50.5 %)], urinary tract infection [25 (27.5 %)], and gastrointestinal tract infection [9 (9.9 %)]. Of the patients, 76.4 % received a beta-lactam, 17.5 % a fluoroquinolone, 15.3 % an imidazole, 8.7 % an aminoglycoside, and 5.4 % a lincosamide. The cure rate was 72.5 % and mortality was 27.5 %. The mean duration (± SD) of intravenous antibiotic treatment was 4.7 (± 3.3) days. The mean cost per patient was €637 and was comparable to the mean cost if the patient were to be hospitalized for the same infection. There was significant clinical effectiveness of OPAT at home in this mainly elderly population, at an acceptable cost.