Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Apr 2018
Randomized Controlled Trial Observational StudyTiming of antibiotics in the management of community-acquired sepsis: Can a randomised controlled trial of prehospital therapy provide answers?
Significant tension surrounds the application of antibiotics in suspected infection. Guidelines stress the importance of early empirical broad-spectrum therapy, with select observational data suggesting inferior outcomes when this is delayed. ⋯ Controlled trial data are urgently needed, although many clinicians would find withholding of antibiotic therapy unethical. A trial of prehospital antibiotic administration (by paramedics) in patients with suspected sepsis would therefore provide crucial data, and go a long way to determining whether earlier empirical therapy does actually improve outcomes.