Anaerobic coverage as definitive therapy does not affect clinical outcomes in community-onset bacteremic biliary tract infection without anaerobic bacteremia.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotics with anaerobic coverage are widely used for the treatment of biliary tract infection (BTI), even in the absence of isolated anaerobes. The current study aimed to investigate the differences in clinical outcomes in patients with community-onset bacteremic BTIs without anaerobic bacteremia, treated with vs. without anti-anaerobic coverage.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted at a medical center in Taiwan from September 2014 to March 2016. Patients with community-onset bacteremic BTIs without anaerobic bacteremia and who were treated with appropriate antibiotics were analyzed. The clinical outcomes were compared between patients treated with and without anti-anaerobic coverage as definitive therapy after the blood culture reports were available. Multivariable and propensity score-adjusted analysis were used to identify the risk factors associated with treatment failure.

RESULTS: Among the enrolled 87 patients, 63 and 24 patients were treated with and without anaerobic coverage, respectively. Escherichia coli (55.2%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (23.0%) were the most common organisms isolated from the blood cultures. The rate of treatment failure (relapse and 28-day mortality) was similar between the groups with and without anaerobic coverage (20.6% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.677). Propensity score-adjusted multivariable analysis revealed that definitive therapy without anaerobic coverage was not a predisposing factor for treatment failure (OR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.18-4.67, p = 0.916).

CONCLUSIONS: Definitive therapy without anaerobic coverage does not affect the outcomes of patients with community-onset bacteremic BTIs without anaerobes isolated from blood. Our results might provide a possible target for antibiotic stewardship interventions in BTIs.