Table 3.
Comparison of effectiveness of short and long courses of antibiotics in adults
| Condition (source systematic review) | Primary Outcome | Definition of short versus long courses (days) | Studies (#) | Patients (#) | Relative effect of short compared to long duration (95%CI) | Interpretation of summary risk statistic | Duration of antibiotic course supported by results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acute bacterial sinusitis (Falagas 2008(b)) | Clinical cure/ success | 3–7 versus 6–10 | 12 | 4430 | 0.95 (0.81, 1.12) | OR > 1 supports short course | No difference for short versus long |
| Non-pregnant women with uncomplicated UTI (Katchman, 2005) | Symptomatic failure | 3 versus ≥5 | 17 | 5029 | 0.99 (0.89, 1.10) | RR > 1 supports long course | No difference for short versus long |
| Acute pyelonephritis (Kyriakidou 2008) | Clinical success | 7–14 versus 14–42 | 2 | 185 | 1.03 (0.80, 1.32) | OR > 1 supports short course | No difference for short versus long |
| Community-acquired pneumonia (Li et al. 2007)a | Clinical failure | ≤7 versus >7 | 8 | 1540 | 0.96 (0.74, 1.26) | RR > 1 supports long course | No difference for short versus long |
| Acute uncomplicated lower UTI in older women (Lutters, 2008) | Clinical failure | 3–6 versus 7–14 | 4 | 395 | 0.98 (0.62, 1.54) | RR > 1 supports long course | No difference for short versus long |
aFour additional studies were included in systematic review that compared IV antibiotics; therefore, they were excluded in our analyses.