Empirical antimicrobial therapy of septic shock patients: Adequacy and impact on the outcome*

Abstract

The prescription of empirical antimicrobial therapy by a senior physician in agreement with practice guidelines made it possible to achieve a crude rate of 89% of adequate antimicrobial therapy in study patients. Inadequate antimicrobial therapy was associated with a 39% excess of mortality. A de-escalation of the empirical therapy was possible in 64% of patients.