The Short Long Antibiotic Course for Pleural Infection Management (SLIM) randomised controlled open-label trial.

Introduction: Based on expert opinion, the length of antibiotic treatment for pleural infection in adults is typically recommended to be a minimum of 4 weeks. This clinical trial aimed to assess whether shorter antibiotic courses lead to more treatment failures than standard longer courses.

Methods: In an open-label randomised controlled trial, adult patients with pleural infection who were medically treated and stabilised within 14 days of admission were randomised to either a short antibiotic course (total course 14-21 days) or a long antibiotic course (total course 28-42 days).