Patient satisfaction in an outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) unit practising predominantly self-administration of antibiotics with elastomeric pumps

Self-administration of antibiotics using elastomeric pumps has become the most frequently used treatment modality at the outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) unit of the University Hospital of Lausanne. However, it remains unknown how comfortable patients feel using this mode of treatment. A questionnaire was offered to all patients treated at the OPAT unit between June 2014 and December 2015. The questionnaire was distributed to 188 patients and 112 questionnaires were returned. Seventy-one patients were treated by self-administration, 21 attended the OPAT unit on a daily basis, and 20 received their antibiotics from home-care nurses. Overall, 83–97% of the patients gave the highest possible scores to the four items evaluating their global satisfaction. Subjects treated by self-administration gave a significantly better rating to 6 of the 17 semi-quantitative questions than the patients treated at the OPAT unit or by home-care nurses. There was no item which was more poorly rated by patients treated by self-administered OPAT than by the other treatment groups. In conclusion satisfaction was high in all patients treated by OPAT. The particularly high satisfaction of patients treated by self-administration of antibiotics with elastomeric pumps suggests that a significant number of patients are happy to take over some responsibility for their treatment. Patients’ capacity to appropriate their care themselves should not be underestimated by health care professionals.