BetaEntity Annotation Prototype
← Back to drugs

Annotated abstract

P-100 Short subcutaneous infusion of antibiotics in the community: a case series

bmjspcare · 2025-11-21 · canonical JSON source

6 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

Document resource

Background REACT (Responsive Emergency and Community Team) is a collaborative service run by Bradford Marie Curie Hospice and Bradford Teaching Hospitals, the aim of which is to support palliative care patients to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and be cared for in their preferred place. Support is provided for the first few days following an emergency department attendance and more recently to avoid attendance by accepting referrals from GPs and community colleagues. It was identified that provision of antibiotics via parenteral route could be of potential benefit to some palliative patients to assist with hospital admission avoidance. This is currently unavailable locally.Aim To offer provision of parenteral antibiotics for patients who require them, meet REACT criteria, and whose preferred place of care is usual place of residence – with the aim of avoiding hospital or hospice admissions.Method After researching options for administration in the community we developed a Standard Operating Procedure for administration of subcutaneous Ceftriaxone which could be delivered by existing staff in the patient’s preferred place of care.Results This was implemented approximately one year ago and with this poster we aim to share development of the service and findings from the first patient cohort. The team has treated six patients in the timeframe whose cases will be analysed: looking at implementation, indications, reasoning for chosen route of administration and outcomes. We aim to share our learning from this small but innovative project.Conclusion Giving subcutaneous antibiotics in the community was possible with few adverse events. It prevented hospital admissions. However, there should be careful consideration of the appropriateness on a case-by-case basis. We have found that the administration of short subcutaneous antibiotics via infusion in the community is a relatively straightforward initiative that can contribute to reducing hospital and hospice bed days in the last year of life.