Table 1.

Clinician considerations when choosing empiric antibiotics

•Has the patient been exposed to antibiotics recently? •Does the patient reside in a long-term care facility or have other multi-drug-resistant-organism risk factors? •Does the patient have prior culture data showing antimicrobial resistance? •Can the patient take medications orally? •If intravenous antibiotics are needed, does the patient have stable venous access? •What is the patient’s renal function? •What other medications is the patient receiving that might interact with what would be typically used for therapy? •Where is the infection? Which antibiotics will penetrate that location? •What antibiotics are on the institution (or, for outpatients, insurance) formulary?