Shorter and Longer Courses of Antibiotics for Common Infections and the Association With Reductions of Infection-Related Complications Including Hospital Admissions.

Equal effectiveness was found between shorter and longer antibiotic courses and the reduction of infection-related hospitalizations. Stewardship programs should recommend shorter courses of antibiotics for acute infections. Further research is required for treating patients with a complex medical history.SummaryPrescribing of longer courses increased over the study period. The majority of hospitalizations occurred for patients receiving longer courses. Risk of developing a complication (immediate vs remaining follow-up) found longer courses were no more effective than shorter courses.