Early switch to oral antibiotic therapy in patients with low-risk neutropenic sepsis (EASI-SWITCH): a randomized non-inferiority trial

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether early switch to oral antibiotic treatment in adults with neutropenic sepsis at low risk of complications is non-inferior to switching later. METHODS: This non-inferiority, parallel-group, randomized, open-label clinical trial enrolled UK adults hospitalized with neutropenic sepsis. Participants were randomly assigned to either switch to oral ciprofloxacin plus co-amoxiclav within 12-24 hours or to continue intravenous treatment for at least 48 hours. The primary outcome was a composite measure of treatment failure, 14 days after randomization. The non-inferiority margin was 15%. RESULTS: There were 129 participants from 16 centres and 125 were assessed for the primary outcome. Of these, 113 patients completed protocolized treatment and comprised the per-protocol population. In total, 9 (14.1%) of 64 patients in…