Is 7 days of antibiotics as effective as 14 days of antibiotics for the 'cure' of urinary sepsis: an observational sub-study of the BALANCE Study.

Abstract

The BALANCE study is a randomised clinical trial comparing 7 to 14 days of antimicrobial therapy for bacteraemia. This sub-study is designed to determine whether patients enrolled in the main study, with a urinary source of their bacteraemia (urinary sepsis/urinary-tract infection), are as likely to be cured from their urinary-tract infection when treated with a short duration (7d) antimicrobial therapy, as compared with a longer duration (14d) of therapy. Demonstrating a clinical cure of the primary source of infection is important in UTI. If microbiological cure of the infection is not achieved, patients remain at increased risk of recurrent urinary tract infection and sepsis. If the BALANCE study demonstrates non-inferiority of 7 days duration antimicrobial therapy, further data supporting non-inferiority of cure for UTI will enhance the generalisability and clinician acceptance of reduced duration antimicrobial therapy.