It is cheaper and better, so let’s treat more kids at home

A recent economic evaluation published in the prestigious Lancet Infectious Diseases co-authored by Dr Li Huang and A/P Kim Dalziel from the Health Economics Unit has shown that administering intravenous antibiotics at home is just as effective and safe as in a hospital, if not more so. And, it comes at almost half the cost.

One common reason why children are admitted to hospital is to be treated with intravenous antibiotics. This study comprised 188 children with moderate-to-severe cellulitis–a bacterial skin infection. Half were randomly assigned to be treated with intravenous antibiotics in hospital, while the other half were treated at home with a medical staff attending to administer intravenous antibiotics. Treatment failure was lower in the home group. Cost to hospital and families is also lower. Our findings should change the way clinicians consider care in Australia and internationally.

Further details of the article can be found here.