Course: Intravenous to Oral Switch: Within Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (IVOST)

Reviewing and reflecting on the performance of the COPAT team on a regular basis is essential for the evolution and development of a service. The weekly MDT meeting, which is …

One of the major challenges of OPAT is to avoid the unnecessary prolongation of IV therapy because it is easy to do so. It is therefore important that the timing …

The following case is an example of the monitoring which may be required: A 62-year-old patient, prescribed clinically significant immunosuppressive therapy for a severe inflammatory condition, is treated for bloodstream …

Patients are discharged when: The planned complex antibiotic therapy course has been completed and the patient does not require further therapy The patient is established and stable enough on the …

Our COPAT service currently runs Monday to Friday, 0800 to 1600, although it is hoped that it will expand to a 7-day service soon. This means that there are many …

We would ask the patient to stop both antibiotics. Ciprofloxacin is well known to cause tendonitis and patients should be warned of the potential for this to occur (as well …

At Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust we run three dedicated nurse-led clinics each week seeing up to six patients in each clinic. Patients are also seen at other times …

In an ideal situation, the core and essential members of a COPAT service are: A doctor (preferably with considerable infection expertise) An experienced nurse A pharmacist (preferably with considerable antibiotic …

Other antimicrobials, that would not usually be monitored, may need systematic enhanced monitoring within a COPAT or similar service due to comorbidities, drug-drug interactions or other concerns (including adherence). For …

Co-trimoxazole is usually well tolerated in most patients without comorbidities or renal impairment, but it can have deleterious effects on renal function (and cause hyperkalaemia) for those on prolonged therapy, …

A number of important considerations are required before prescribing Rifampicin: Is a Rifampicin-containing regimen the optimal regimen for the patient’s infection? If yes, are the bacteria thought to be causing …

We do not use it as a first-line agent, except in selected patients taking high doses of, or multiple, MAOI and/or serotonergic drugs, because of cost considerations (approx. £140 per …

This patient tolerated Chloramphenicol well for 19 weeks, but then developed blurred vision. She was referred to ophthalmology who diagnosed optic neuritis, probably secondary to Chloramphenicol. This was stopped and …

The patient described in step 3.4 was also taking warfarin for atrial fibrillation. Chloramphenicol interacts with many medications so it is important to check the patient’s current drug list before …

Chloramphenicol is an ‘old’ broad-spectrum antibiotic, available in IV, oral and topical formulations. Not prescribed routinely in the UK, oral Chloramphenicol is on occasions the only oral option for some …