Feasibility of outpatient self-administration of parenteral antibiotics.

It is customary to treat patients with infective endocarditis or osteomyelitis for a prolonged period in hospital with parenteral antibiotics. It was felt that it might be feasible to allow parenteral administration of antibiotics by the patients themselves at home. Results in 13 patients who administered antibiotics parenterally themselves (experimental group) were compared with those in 7 patients (control group) treated entirely within the hospital. Antibiotic-related complications were similar in both groups. There was no instance of infection of the intravenous cannula in either group. The average daily cost of antibiotic therapy decreased from $243.22 for inpatients to $69.35 for outpatients. The average cost of illness was $6,357.22 in the experimental group and $10,022.23 in the control group. If patients are carefully selected and well educated, the outpatient self-administration of antibiotics parenterally is both economical and safe.