Dr. Mical Paul from Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa, who coauthored an accompanying editorial, told Reuters Health by email, “Prolonged intravenous administration of beta-lactams in the ICU setting may have a benefit, has biological rationale, and is harmless. It should be used.”

“Treatment duration is an unresolved issue,” he said. “For many infections, we are probably giving longer treatments than necessary. But this is a different question to assess in randomized controlled trials comparing treatment durations.”