Early switching from intravenous to oral antibiotic therapy in bone and joint infections associated with methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients with bone and joint infection (BJI) associated with methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (MSSAB) treated with early oral switch to oral antibiotics (before day 14) versus later or no switch. Patients and methods: We included all cases reported between January 2016 and December 2021 in the University Hospital of Reims. Results: Among 79 patients with BJI associated with MSSAB, 50.6% had an early switch to oral antibiotics, with median duration of intravenous antibiotics of 9 (IQR 6-11) days. The overall cure rate was 81% with follow-up of 6 months, and was 85.7% after excluding the 9 patients whose death was not related to BJI infection. Failure to control BJI did not differ between the two groups. Conclusion: An early (before day 14) switch to oral antibiotics may be a safe therapeutic option in BJI associated with MSSAB.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the clinical outcomes of patients with bone and joint infection (BJI) associated with methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (MSSAB) treated with early oral switch to oral antibiotics (before day 14) versus later or no switch. The results showed that among 79 patients with BJI associated with MSSAB, 50.6% had an early switch to oral antibiotics, with a median duration of intravenous antibiotics of 9 days. The overall cure rate was 81% with a follow-up of 6 months, and failure to control BJI did not differ between the two groups.