Table 1.

Diseases for Which Short-course Antibiotic Therapy Has Been Found to Be Equally Effective to Longer Traditional Courses of Therapy (With References)

Diagnosis	Short (d)	Long (d)	Result
Community-acquired pneumonia [6–14]	3 or 5	7, 8, or 10	Equal
Hospital-acquired/ventilator-associated pneumonia [15, 16]	7–8	14–15	Equal
Complicated urinary tract infections/pyelonephritis [17–22]	5 or 7	10 or 14	Equal
Complicated/postoperative intraabdominal infections [23, 24]	4 or 8	10 or 15	Equal
Gram-negative bacteremia [25]	7	14	Equal
Acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (meta-analysis of 21 trials [26])	≤5	≥7	Equal
Acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (cellulitis/major abscess) [27–29]	5–6	10	Equal
Chronic osteomyelitis [30]	42	84	Equal
Empiric neutropenic fever [31]	Afebrile and stable × 72 h	Afebrile and stable × 72 h and with absolute neutrophil count > 500 cells/μL	Equal