Objective Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) is increasingly used to treat children at home, but studies in children are scarce. We aimed to describe the use, appropriateness and outcomes of OPAT in children. Design This was a 12-month prospective observational study. Setting The hospital-in-the-home programme of The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. Patients All patients receiving OPAT. Interventions Data were collected including demographics, diagnosis, type of venous access and antibiotic choice. Main outcome measures Length of stay, adverse events, readmission rate and appropriateness of antibiotic use. Results 228 patients received OPAT in 251 episodes. The median age was 7.4 years (range 1 week to 21 years), with 22 patients (10%) under 1 year. The most frequent diagnoses were exacerbation of cystic fibrosis (17%), urinary tract infection (12%) and cellulitis (9%). Most patients were transferred from the ward, but 18% were transferred directly from the emergency department, the majority with skin and soft-tissue infection (66%). Venous access was most commonly peripherally inserted central catheter (29%) and peripheral cannula (29%). 309 parenteral antibiotics were prescribed, most frequently ceftriaxone (28%) and gentamicin (19%). The majority of antibiotics (72%) were prescribed appropriately. However, 6% were deemed an inappropriate choice for the indication and 26% had inappropriate dose or duration. The incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infections was 0.9%. The unplanned readmission rate was 4%, with low rates of OPAT-related adverse events. Three children (1%) had an inadequate clinical response. Conclusions OPAT is a safe and effective way of providing antibiotics to children. Despite high rates of appropriate antibiotic use, improvements can still be made. BACKGROUND

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ObjectiveTo measure the nasal gas flow in infants treated with bubble continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and compare it with commonly used flows during nasal high flow (nHF) treatment.DesignThis is a prospective, single-centre study. Bubble CPAP pressure was measured at the nasal prongs. Set gas flow was reduced until bubbling in the water chamber just ceased. Set gas flow without bubbling then approximated flow entering the infant’s nose (‘delivered flow’).SettingNeonatal intensive care at The Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.PatientsClinically stable preterm infants receiving bubble CPAP therapy.Main outcome measureDelivered flow (L/min) when bubbling stopped at a range of clinically set CPAP pressures (cm H2O).ResultsForty-four infants were studied, with a mean (SD) gestational age at birth of 28.4 (2.2) weeks and birth weight of 1154 (419) g. At the time of the study, infants had a median (IQR) age of 4.5 (2–12) days and a mean (SD) weight of 1205 (407) g. Delivered flow ranged from 0.5 to 9.0 L/min, and increased with higher set CPAP pressures (median 3.5 L/min at CPAP 5 cm H2O vs 6.3 L/min at CPAP 8 cm H2O) and heavier weights (median 3.5 L/min in infants <1000 g vs 6.5 L/min for infants >1500 g).ConclusionsNasal gas flows during bubble CPAP in preterm infants are similar to flows used during nHF and increase with higher set bubble CPAP pressures and in larger infants.Trial registration number ACTRN12619000197134.

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