Comparison of Empirical Antibiotic Appropriateness Between Infectious Disease Specialists and Intensive Care Unit Physicians in Septic Shock
Öz
Empirical antibiotic therapy is a key component of septic shock management. This study aimed to evaluate the concordance between empirical antibiotic therapy and culture results in patients with septic shock who died during intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and to compare concordance rates between therapies initiated by infectious disease specialists and ICU physicians. This retrospective observational study included 107 adult patients with septic shock who died during ICU hospitalization between 2020 and 2025. Empirical therapy was defined as appropriate if the initial regimen covered the identified pathogen based on antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Patients were grouped according to whether empirical antibiotics were initiated by infectious disease specialists or ICU physicians. A post-hoc power analysis was performed to assess the ability to detect differences between groups. Empirical therapy was appropriate in 55 patients (51.4%). Concordance rates were 54.2% in the infectious disease specialist group and 41.7% in the ICU physician group, with no statistically significant difference (p=0.279). Patients receiving appropriate therapy were younger (67.1 ± 17.1 vs. 73.4 ± 12.6 years, p=0.032) and had a shorter median ICU stay (5 vs. 7 days, p=0.042). The most frequently isolated microorganisms included methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci in blood cultures (32.8%) and ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in tracheal aspirates (16.1%). In this cohort of non-survivors with septic shock, empirical antibiotic therapy initiated by ICU physicians demonstrated microbiological concordance rates comparable to those initiated by infectious disease specialists. These findings highlight the importance of protocol-driven empirical therapy and multidisciplinary collaboration in settings with a high burden of antimicrobial resistance. Further large-scale, multicenter studies are needed to better characterize empirical antibiotic concordance and its clinical implications.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kaynakça
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Ayrıntılar
Birincil Dil
İngilizce
Konular
Yoğun Bakım
Bölüm
Araştırma Makalesi
Yazarlar
Derful Gulen
*
0000-0002-3347-8292
Türkiye
Nigar Mehmet
0009-0008-4182-6841
Türkiye
Serpil Ekin
0000-0002-4760-400X
Türkiye
Buket Özyaprak
0000-0002-6327-4573
Türkiye
İlkay Ceylan
0000-0003-3306-3107
Türkiye
Yayımlanma Tarihi
9 Haziran 2026
Gönderilme Tarihi
26 Şubat 2026
Kabul Tarihi
20 Nisan 2026
Yayımlandığı Sayı
Yıl 2026 Cilt: 48 Sayı: 4