Clinical procedures
abscess
COMPLICATIONS, ABSCESS
As per the A-KLASS trial protocol, eligible patients were randomized 1:1 to either continue IV antibiotics (control group) or switch to oral antibiotics immediately following randomization (intervention group)On discharge, patients in the intervention group were dispensed oral antibiotics for self-administration. Patients in the control group either completed the IV antibiotics treatment in the hospital prior to discharge or had a peripherally inserted central catheter and received IV antibiotic via outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) services. If at the week 4 visit patients met criteria for clinical response, antibiotics were discontinued. If these criteria were not met, oral antibiotics were administered in 2-weekly extensions with visits every 2 weeks and monthly imaging until clinical response. A final study visit was scheduled for all participants at week 12. These requirements were the same for both control and intervention groups. Both groups had additional outpatient visits as needed for clinical care. The types of visits included: OPAT visits for antibiotics (which included the cost of the infusion pump for the control IV group) laboratory tests with associated nurse & physician fees; radiology visits for repeat imaging; surgical follow-up visits for patients who required abscess drainage; other visits as needed for patient care.The primary endpoint for efficacy was “clinical cure,” determined at week 12 and defined as CRP < 20 mg/L, plus temperature < 38 °C at the week 12 assessment and the preceding week, plus reduced maximal diameter of the abscess at the most recent abdominal imagingDemographic and outcome data were collected for clinical comparison. In addition to the primary endpoint, this included all-cause mortality, unplanned re-admission, unplanned abscess drainage, metastatic complications, recurrent 