Impact of time to antibiotic optimization following inadequate or excessive empiric therapy on clinical outcomes

Key Points

• The aim is to investigate how delays in antibiotic optimization impact clinical outcomes following initial therapy.
• Analysis of outcomes in cohorts receiving either inadequate or excessive empiric therapy.
• Assessment of the timing of antibiotic optimization and its relationship to treatment failures and adverse events.
• Delayed optimization of antibiotics was linked to higher rates of adverse clinical outcomes.
• Prompt de-escalation of broad-spectrum antibiotics reduced treatment failures and adverse events.