Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) with Elastomeric Pumps in Collaboration with Home-visit Nursing Services in Japan: Experience of the First 10 Patients

In 2014, we reported the first trial based on outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) with continuous infusions in Japan. Following this, we found many patients who were eligible for OPAT but could not undertake it owing to difficulties in accessing the clinic daily. To overcome this problem, we created a model in collaboration with visiting nursing stations and started providing OPAT with the services. We report herein on a summary of the investigation of the first 10 patients treated under this model. We collected data pertaining to diseases, organisms, antimicrobials, treatment duration, bed days saved, outcome, readmission rate, and cost reductions associated with these patients. The most commonly targeted disease was osteomyelitis, followed by infective endocarditis. The condition of nine of the patients was complicated by bacteremia. The most commonly targeted organism was Staphylococcus aureus. Cefazolin was the most frequently prescribed antimicrobial, followed by Penicillin G. The median duration for OPAT was 12 days (range: 5-23 days). The total number of bed days saved was 129. All patients completed the planned OPAT. Eight patients were cured and two showed improvement. Only one patient was readmitted within a month after the completion of therapy. The estimated medical cost reduction was 496,540 yen, which is approximately 4,200 US dollars. Collaboration with visiting nursing stations provided OPAT to the patients who had difficulties in accessing the clinic daily. Our study shows that OPAT administered by continuous infusion in collaboration with home-visit nursing services would be a safe and feasible practice for efficient bed utilization and medical cost saving.