| Level I | Good quality evidence |
Systematic review of RCTs with consistent findings High quality individual RCT |
| Level II |
Limited quality patient orientated evidence |
Systematic review of lower quality studies or studies with inconsistent findings Low quality clinical trial Cohort studies Case-control studies |
| Level III | Other |
Consensus guidelines, extrapolations from bench research, usual practice, opinion, disease-oriented evidence (intermediate or physiologic outcomes only), or case series |
[39] Criteria for de-escalation of IV antibiotic therapy (community acquired pneumonia): Oosterheert JJ, Bonten MJ, Schneider MM, Buskens E, Lammers JW, Hustinx WM, Kramer MH, Prins JM, Slee PH, Kaasjager K, Hoepelman AI. Effectiveness of early switch from intravenous to oral antibiotics in severe community acquired pneumonia: multicentre randomised trial. BMJ. 2006 Dec 9;333(7580):1193. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17090560
Criteria for de-escalation of IV antibiotic therapy (community acquired pneumonia): Mertz D, Koller M, Haller P, Lampert ML, Plagge H, Hug B, Koch G, Battegay M, Flückiger U, Bassetti S. Outcomes of early switching from intravenous to oral antibiotics on medical wards. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2009 Jul;64(1):188-99. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19401304
Criteria for de-escalation of IV antibiotic therapy (community acquired pneumonia): Boyles TH, Brink A, Calligaro GL, Cohen C, Dheda K, Maartens G, et al; South African Thoracic Society; Federation of Infectious Diseases Societies of Southern Africa. South African guideline for the management of community-acquired pneumonia in adults. J Thorac Dis. 2017 Jun;9(6):1469-1502. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28740661
Criteria for de-escalation of IV antibiotic therapy (community acquired pneumonia): Nathwani D, Lawson W, Dryden M, Stephens J, Corman S, Solem C, Li J, Charbonneau C, Baillon-Plot N, Haider S, Eckmann C. Implementing criteria-based early switch/early discharge programmes: a European perspective. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2015 Sep;21 Suppl 2:S47-55. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26198369