Care in the chicken coop

The Macarthur Ambulatory Care Service has developed a successful program for delivery of intravenous antibiotics at home to provide an alternative to hospitalisation. Although most patients are housebound, some have returned to their usual occupation during treatment, without adverse outcomes. This 57-year-old poultry farmer, referred by a respiratory physician for treatment of community-acquired lobar pneumonia, was receiving intravenous ceftriaxone 1 g daily. For his final dose, the nurse was directed across the farmyard to a large shed, where he was feeding his chickens.