BALANCE

Bacteraemia Antibiotic Length Actually Needed for Clinical Effectiveness

Paziente / Popolazione Intervento / Esposizione Confronto Esito

In 3,608 hospitalised adults with bloodstream infection (≈55 % ICU), 7 days of adequate antibiotic therapy was non-inferior to 14 days for 90-day mortality.

3608

Disegno

International multicentre RCT

Esito

90-day all-cause mortality

Rilevanza

Risultato14.5 % vs 16.1 %; difference −1.6 pp — non-inferiority confirmed.

Daneman N, et al. N Engl J Med. 2025;392(11):1065-1078. 10.1056/NEJMoa2404991

Discussione e critica

7 days becomes the new default for most non-staphylococcal bacteraemia, including in ICU patients. S. aureus, endocarditis and deep-seated foci were excluded.