Treatment timing shifts the benefits of short and long antibiotic treatment over infection.

ABSTRACT: Antibiotics are the major tool for treating bacterial infections. Rising antibiotic resistance, however, calls for a better use of antibiotics. While classical recommendations favor long and aggressive treatments, more recent clinical trials advocate for moderate regimens. In this debate, two axes of 'aggression' have typically been conflated: treatment intensity (dose) and treatment duration. The third dimension of treatment timing along each individual's infection course has rarely been addressed. By using a generic mathematical model of bacterial infection controlled by immune response, we examine how the relative effectiveness of antibiotic treatment varies with its timing, duration and antibiotic kill rate. We show that short or long treatments may both be beneficial depending on trea

SUBMITTER: Gjini E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7750949 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature