When not to start antibiotics: avoiding antibiotic overuse in the intensive care unit

Most intensive care unit (ICU) patients receive broad-spectrum antibiotics. While lifesaving in some, in others these treatments may be unnecessary and place patients at risk of antibiotic-associated harms.To review the literature exploring how we diagnose infection in patients in the ICU and address the safety and utility of a 'watchful waiting' approach to antibiotic initiation with selected patients in the ICU.A semi-structured search of...