Inadequate empiric antimicrobial therapy and mortality in geriatric patients with bloodstream infection: A target for antimicrobial stewardship

Inadequate empiric antimicrobial therapy occurred in approximately one-third of episodes of bloodstream infection in geriatric patients. Severity at the time of bloodstream infection was likely to have contributed to mortality. The initiation of adequate empiric antimicrobial therapy may have important implications for antimicrobial stewardship even in the elderly population.