Specialists Foresee Greater Use of Parenteral Therapy for Osteomyelitis

Arlington Medical Resources (AMR) and Decision Resources find that in addition to surveyed infectious disease specialists' prediction that empiric coverage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) will increase, they foresee greater use of parenteral outpatient therapy (intravenous or intramuscular injection) for the treatment of osteomyelitis. Osteomyelitis is an infection of bone or bone marrow caused by bacterial infections.

"Osteomyelitis often requires an extended duration of antibiotic therapy after hospital discharge and many patients are prescribed an injectable agent," stated Lisa Arias, analyst at Decision Resources. "Nearly one-third of surveyed physicians expect increased use of parenteral antibiotic therapy in the next five years."

The new report, “Hospital Anti-Infectives Insight Series: Osteomyelitis,” also finds that although surveyed infectious disease specialists look for a range of attributes when prescribing an antibiotic for osteomyelitis, the leading attribute, by far, is the drug's safety profile when administered over a long period of time -- 77 percent of surveyed physicians cited this attribute as extremely important. Physicians also look for an antibiotic that can be dosed, administered and monitored easily in the outpatient setting. Other important factors are the drug's ability to penetrate bone and activity against MRSA.

AMR and Decision Resources' Hospital Anti-Infectives Insight Series analyzes hospital antibiotic prescribing patterns using AMR's comprehensive and highly detailed clinical data in conjunction with Decision Resources' disease area knowledge, primary research and extensive understanding of emerging therapies and forecasts. These reports examine the reasons behind physicians' product preferences, factors driving hospital antibiotic prescribing patterns and receptivity to emerging antibiotics.