Patient-reported perceptions, experiences and preferences around intravenous and oral antibiotics for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: a descriptive qualitative study

There is growing evidence to support partial oral antibiotic treatment of severe infections such as Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, but clinical practice is slow to adopt this paradigm. We know little about how patients with severe infection experience and perceive intravenous and oral antibiotics in terms of quality of life and clinical effectiveness. We performed a qualitative study to elicit patients' views on treatment with intravenous and oral antibiotics, aiming to provide insights that could inform collaborative treatment decision-making.

Citation:
Walls G, McGrath L, Herdman MT, Campbell AJ, Cheng MP, et al. Patient-reported perceptions, experiences and preferences around intravenous and oral antibiotics for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: a descriptive qualitative study. Clin Infect Dis. 2025.

Keywords:
Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia; intravenous antibiotics; oral antibiotics; patient preference

Abstract:
There is growing evidence to support partial oral antibiotic treatment of severe infections such as Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, but clinical practice is slow to adopt this paradigm. We know little about how patients with severe infection experience and perceive intravenous and oral antibiotics in terms of quality of life and clinical effectiveness. We performed a qualitative study to elicit patients' views on treatment with intravenous and oral antibiotics, aiming to provide insights that could inform collaborative treatment decision-making.