Antibiotic de-escalation patterns and outcomes in critically ill patients with suspected pneumonia as informed by bronchoalveolar lavage results.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Antibiotic stewardship in critically ill pneumonia patients is crucial yet challenging, partly due to the limitations of noninvasive diagnostic tests. This study reports an antibiotic de-escalation pattern informed by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) results, incorporating quantitative cultures and multiplex PCR rapid diagnostic tests.

Methods

We analyzed data from SCRIPT, a single-center prospective cohort study of mechanically ventilated patients who underwent a BAL for suspected pneumonia. We used the Narrow Antibiotic Therapy (NAT) score to quantify day-by-day antibiotic prescription patterns for each suspected pneumonia episode etiology (bacterial, viral, mixed bacterial/viral, microbiology-negative, and non-pneumonia control). The primary outcome was a composite of

SUBMITTER: Zhu M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12321642 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature