Introduction: Few data regarding antibiotic stewardship programs in critically ill patients are available. In the present study, the consequence of changing an empirical antibiotic regimen from a carbapenem (meropenem) to a noncarbapenem antibiotic (piperacillin-tazobactam) was evaluated in critically ill patients with a suspicion of sepsis.
Methods: This open-label randomized clinical trial was conducted during May 2015-January 2017 at the general Intensive Care Unit of the Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran, Iran. In this study, a carbapenem (meropenem) or a noncarbapenem (piperacillin-tazobactam) antibiotic was considered as an empirical antibiotic regimen in 100 critically ill patients with a suspicion of sepsis. Clinical response and bacterial eradication were defined as primary and secondary outcomes of the study, respectively. Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, and independent sample t-tests were used for comparing variables between the groups. ANOVA was used to compare changes in the mean differences of parameters between the groups. Meaningful difference was indicated as P ≤ 0.05.
Results: During the first 72 h of the antibiotic course, the number of patients with clinical response was comparable between piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem groups (21 [42%] and 25 [50%], respectively, P = 0.31). Also, at this time, microbial eradication occurred in 13 (54.16%) and 9 (40.90%) patients in piperacillin-tazobactam and meropenem groups, respectively (P = 0.67).
Conclusions: Using a carbapenem (meropenem) instead of a noncarbapenem (piperacillin-tazobactam) as an empirical antibiotic regimen did not affect clinical response and bacterial eradication rates in critically ill patients with a suspicion of sepsis.
Keywords: Antibiotic stewardship; meropenem; piperacillin-tazobactam; sepsis.