TY - JOUR T1 - A De-escalation Clock for Antibiotics Would Connect Diagnostic Evidence, Host Trajectory, Spectrum, Route, and Duration in a Single Rational-Use Decision A1 - Daniel Kim A1 - Emma Wright A1 - Luca Moretti JF - Annals of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapy JO - Ann Pharm Pract Pharmacother SN - 3062-4436 Y1 - 2024 VL - 4 IS - 2 DO - 10.51847/qokJ1ctHTt SP - 37 EP - 46 N2 - Antibiotic reassessment is often organized around fixed review points, yet the information needed to modify treatment rarely matures simultaneously. Microbiological evidence may justify spectrum narrowing while the patient still requires intravenous therapy; clinical recovery may permit oral treatment while uncertainty about total duration remains; conversely, negative cultures may provide little reassurance when the host trajectory remains concerning. This For Debate article argues that antibiotic de-escalation is better understood as a set of time-linked but partly independent reassessment processes. Diagnostic evidence, host trajectory, spectrum, route, dose or exposure, and duration should each be reconsidered whenever their relevant evidence changes, without assuming that improvement in one dimension automatically justifies movement in another. The proposed “clock” is therefore not a universal timetable. It is a way to make asynchronous treatment decisions explicit while preserving infection site, pathogen, source control, immune status, severity, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics as determinants of when each modification becomes defensible. UR - https://galaxypub.co/article/a-de-escalation-clock-for-antibiotics-would-connect-diagnostic-evidence-host-trajectory-spectrum-iqmhbcefwlw1khf ER -