Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT): a review of experience at Auckland Hospital

Aim To review the Auckland Hospital Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) Service. Methods Patients (>15 years of age) were referred to the Service and assessed for suitability for outpatient therapy by an infectious diseases physician and a specialist nurse. Patient demographics, referring service, site of infection, and infecting organism, antimicrobial agent/s and outcomes of treatment including complications were recorded. Results Over a 20-month period 100 patients were treated with 107 courses of outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy. Bone and joint infections accounted for close to two thirds (60%) of the referrals; discitis/osteomyelitis (36%), septic arthritis (14%) and infected metalware/prosthetic joint infections (10%). Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently isolated organism (42%), and in 21 % of cases no organism was identified. In general, antibiotics prescribed were narrow spectrum and all but six patients self-administered up to four times daily. Eighty-eight percent of treatmen