Patients with endocarditis on the left side of the heart are significantly less likely to die from any cause if they receive oral rather than IV antibiotics once stabilised, Danish research shows.

The five-year results from the POET (Partial Oral Treatment of Endocarditis) trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, confirm the trend seen in post-hoc analysis completed at 3.5 years’ follow-up.

The Copenhagen University Hospital-led team said their findings further support the use of oral antibiotic therapy in this clinical setting.

In the original trial, 400 stabilised patients with endocarditis were randomly assigned to continue treatment with IV antibiotics or shift to step-down treatment with oral antibiotics after at least 10 days of initial IV therapy.