Intravenous antimicrobial therapy in the hospital-at-home setting: data from the Spanish Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy Registry.

Aim: To evaluate outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) in the hospital-at-home (HaH) model, using data from a Spanish registry. Patients & methods: We describe episodes/characteristics of patients receiving OPAT. Results: Four thousand and five patients were included (mean age 66.2 years), generating 4416 HaH episodes, 4474 infections and 5088 antibiotic treatments. Most patients were from the hospital admission ward and emergency department. Respiratory, urinary and intra-abdominal infections predominated (72%). Forty-six different antimicrobials were used, including combinations of >= 2 drugs (20.7%). Most HaH episodes had a successful outcome (91%). Conclusion: Our findings are similar to those obtained previously although our study case profiles differ, suggesting that disease processes of greater severity and complexity can be treated using this healthcare model, without compromising patient safety.