Early antibiotic treatment in emergency department. The critical balance

An early administration of appropriate antibiotic therapy is universally considered the most important intervention asso- ciated with survival in hospitalized patients with suspected or confirmed infection; conversely, delayed administration of an effective antibiotic therapy is associated with high mor- tality rates, especially in patients with sepsis or septic shock [1]. As a matter of fact, the probability of death increases with the number of hours of delay of antibiotic administration [2].