Abstract

Background: The outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) service is becoming increasingly popular worldwide due to its efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness. It is considered as an alternative to hospital treatment. However, these services have not yet become an integral part of the health care system in Saudi Arabia. The present study is intended to assess healthcare employee experience, safety, cost effectiveness, patient satisfaction in OPAT service in pediatric patients at tertiary care hospital, Riyadh. Methods: In this retrospective study, 19 patients aged between ≥3 months to <14 years, stable and ready for discharge but kept only for completion of IV antibiotics were recruited between the period of Nov. 2018 to Oct. 2019. Data on demographic characteristics, antibiotics used, improvement rate, patient satisfaction and cost effectiveness were collected.

Results: Clinical outcomes and patient’s experience in pediatric OPAT service reported 95% health improvement rate with 100% patients and parents’ satisfaction. Ceftriaxone is the most commonly (70%) prescribed antibiotic followed by Tazocin. The psychological status, family convenient and medical care were reported better in OPAT as compared to in hospital stay. We have saved 61% bed days through the establishment of OPAT service. In addition, OPAT service-related complication, readmission, and failure rate were minimal in our study. The cost of all the patients participating in OPAT care is 46,125 SAR as compared to the in hospital estimated cost of SAR 707,400. Thus, we saved 93.48% of the overall estimated inpatient stay cost.

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that OPAT is reliable and cost-effective service. It can reduce the direct costs of non-life-threatening infections compared to completing the course as an in-patient case. We have saved 93.48% of the overall estimated hospital expense through establishing OPAT service.

Keywords: OPAT; Pediatrics; IV antibiotic; Cost-effective; Non-life threatening; Patient Satisfaction; Psychological status