• Mild to moderate pneumonia: Three days is as effective as eight (el Moussaoui et al., 2006, British Medical Journal); four studies suggest three days is as effective as five in children (Haider et al., 2008, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews).
• Hospital-acquired ventilator-associated pneumonia: Eight days is as effective as 15 (Chastre et al., 2003, Journal of the American Medical Association); eight studies suggest for certain pneumonias, seven- to eight-day courses have better outcomes than 10 to 15 (Pugh et al., 2011, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews).
• Acute pyelonephritis (kidney infection): Seven days is as effective as 14 (Sandberg et al., 2012, The Lancet).
• Septic arthritis (joint infection): Twenty days can cure most cases compared with the typical one to two months of antibiotics usually accompanied by…