Ambulatory parenteral antibiotic therapy in the Cologne metropolitan region
Since April 1st, 2019
Some infectious diseases require treatment with antibiotics, which must be administered as an infusion through the vein into the bloodstream. In Germany, this is usually done in hospital, even if the patient is otherwise in good health. In contrast, patients in outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (APAT) administer the infusions themselves at home. In this way, patients can remain in their familiar surroundings, live their everyday lives as usual and nosocomial infections can be avoided. While APAT is already part of the standard of care in many countries, it is rarely carried out in Germany, despite its advantages.
In this project, the implementation and practicability of APAT will be systematically tested – using the Cologne metropolitan region as an example.
Work package 1
Proof-of-Concept: In the study, patients with an APAT infection are treated and observed. Demographic, medical and treatment data will be collected.
Evaluation by the patient:
Quantitative: The included patients are questioned quantitatively at three points in time about their expectations, handling and satisfaction with APAT.
Qualitative: Following the survey, in-depth qualitative interviews are conducted with some of the patients.
Evaluation on the supply side:
Qualitative: In order to identify factors influencing the physician’s work, two focus groups are conducted with doctors in private practice (n=8) and hospital doctors (n=8).
Work package 2
Survey study: Since family doctors play an important role in APAT, their current attitude towards the form of therapy should be recorded. To this end, a quantitative survey will be carried out to find out about APAT and possible implementation hurdles from the GP’s point of view.
Work package 3
Secondary data analysis: In order to investigate the current care situation and relevance of APAT, data from insured persons in the Cologne metropolitan region are analysed from medical, epidemiological and economic perspectives via the CoRe-Net database.
If successful, the project should help to identify the potential of APAT for Germany. If positive effects and feasibility can be demonstrated in the Cologne metropolitan region, APAT could become an important therapeutic option with many advantages for certain patients. The findings from this study and the concepts and structures developed can later be transferred nationwide.
Further information on K-APAT is available at:
Prof. Dr. Clara Lehmann
(Clinical Infectiology, Clinic I for Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne)
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gerd Fätkenheuer
(Clinical Infectiology, Clinic I for Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne)
Prof. Dr. Holger Pfaff
(Institute for Medical Sociology, Health Services Research, and Rehabilitation Science, University of Cologne)
Dr. Nadine Scholten
(Institute for Medical Sociology, Health Services Research, and Rehabilitation Science, University of Cologne)
Peter Ihle
(PMV research group, University of Cologne)
Prof. Dr. Martin Hellmich
(Institute of Medical Statistics and Computational Biology, University of Cologne)