Treating hospitalized patients with bloodstream infections with antibiotics for 7 days is non-inferior to treating for 14 days, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Nick Daneman, MD, and colleagues randomly assigned 3,608 hospitalized patients with bloodstream infections to receive 7 or 14 days of antibiotic treatment. Most infections were community-onset (75.4%), followed by hospital-acquired (13.4%) and ICU-acquired (11.2%). The most common sources for bacteremia were the urinary tract (42.2%), abdomen (18.8%), lung (13.0%), vascular catheters (6.3%), and skin or soft tissue (5.2%). Mortality at 90 days occurred in 14.5% of patients receiving 7-day treatment and in 16.1% of patients receiving 14-day treatment, demonstrating non-inferiority of the shorter duration. In a per-protocol analysis, the researchers confirmed that the treatment was non-inferior. The findings were similar across secondary outcomes and prespecified patient, pathogen, and syndrome subgroups. “Finding strong evidence that supports shorter antibiotic treatment durations is a top priority to advance antimicrobial stewardship,” Dr. Daneman said.