Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) good practice prescribing guide

This resource has been created by the Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group (SAPG) Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) subgroup and the Association of Scottish Antimicrobial Pharmacists (ASAP) to support prescribing in an OPAT setting in NHS Scotland.

For ease of reference all the good practice prescribing guides have the same layout:

• Indication and dose    
• Dose adjustments
• Monitoring     

Information on prescribing in an OPAT setting is available for the following antibiotics. More drugs will be available soon.

Amikacin (management of Gram-negative infections)
Amikacin (management of Mycobacterial infections)
Ceftazidime
Ceftriaxone
Dalbavancin
Daptomycin
Ertapenem
Meropenem
Piperacillin/tazobactam (30 minute IV infusions)
Piperacillin/tazobactam (24 hour continuous)

The drug summaries do not provide specific treatment guidelines. Individual patient treatment should take into account the core principles of antimicrobial stewardship. This includes selection of the appropriate antimicrobial for the shortest duration with oral therapy being preferred, whenever possible.

Content updated: July 2024