Short courses keep matching long ones across infections — community-acquired pneumonia, pyelonephritis, cellulitis, and now bone infection with local antibiotics. The practical habit that makes short courses happen is writing the intended duration and stop date on the prescription at the start, with the reason, and reviewing on day 3 against culture results. Open-ended courses drift to two or three weeks through handovers alone. If a longer course is genuinely needed, write that reason down too.
- Write the intended duration and stop date on every antibiotic prescription.
- Review on day 3 with culture results, and narrow or stop.
- Record the reason when a course is longer than standard.
- Handover notes should carry the stop date forward.
Why it matters
Courses rarely become short by decision at the end; they become short by a plan at the start.
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