Summary ORAL trail

Background

The bacterial brain abscess is a rare and serious infection typically treated with neurosurgery and prolonged intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy lasting 6 to 8 weeks. Extended IV treatment can lead to complications such as prolonged hospital admission or line infections. It also affects the patient's mobility and comfort. Some experts, based on retrospective studies, believe that a shorter IV treatment is feasible for patients with a good initial response to treatment. However, a randomized trial is necessary to determine if this treatment strategy is truly non-inferior.

Study aim and design

The aim of the ORAL trial is to investigate whether switching to oral treatment after two weeks of IV treatment is non-inferior to the standard IV treatment. The ORAL trial, initiated by Jacob Bodilsen from Denmark, is being conducted in multiple European countries. It is a randomized study where included patients are randomly assigned to switch to oral antibiotics after two weeks or continue the standard IV treatment. Follow up of patients is one year to ultimately determine if the partially oral treatment of brain abscesses is non-inferior to the standard IV treatment.

Contact Research Team Netherlands

Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. M.C. Brouwer (Neurologist)
Researcher: Drs. S.E. Olie (PhD candidate)
For questions about the ORAL trial, you can contact the research team via ipace@amsterdamumc.nl.