Table 1.

Goals and actions considered ADE (antimicrobial de-escalation)

The goals of therapy are theoretically [3]

Broadening the spectrum of antimicrobial therapy by administering different agents acting on different families of pathogens. This increases the likelihood that any responsible pathogen will be susceptible to at least one of the administered agents

Improving the lethality of the treatment on the basis of a possible synergistic effect

Preventing or delaying the emergence of resistance

A large number of actions can be considered ADE, making it challenging to reach a consensus

Narrowing the spectrum of the pivotal antimicrobial

Early discontinuation of one or several antimicrobials of a combination therapy

Early discontinuation of antimicrobial treatment. This has been excluded from the definition of ADE in the last consensus statement [1]