Subtleties in practical application of prolonged infusion of β-lactam antibiotics

Jan J De Waele; Jeffrey Lipman; Mieke Carlier; Jason A Roberts

doi:10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2015.01.007

Subtleties in practical application of prolonged infusion of β-lactam antibiotics

Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2015 May;45(5):461-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2015.01.007. Epub 2015 Feb 16.

Authors

Jan J De Waele¹, Jeffrey Lipman², Mieke Carlier³, Jason A Roberts⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Critical Care Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Jan.DeWaele@UGent.be.
² Burns, Trauma and Critical Care Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
³ Department of Critical Care Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁴ Burns, Trauma and Critical Care Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

PMID: 25749200
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2015.01.007

Abstract

Prolonged infusion (PI) of β-lactam antibiotics is increasingly used in order to optimise antibiotic exposure in critically ill patients. Physicians are often not aware of a number of subtleties that may jeopardise the treatment. In this clinically based paper, we stress pragmatic issues, such as the importance of a loading dose before PI, and discuss a number of important practicalities that are mandatory to benefit from the pharmacokinetic advantages of prolonged β-lactam antibiotic administration.

Keywords: Antibiotics continuous infusion; Prolonged infusion; β-Lactam.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents / administration & dosage*
Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacokinetics
Bacterial Infections / drug therapy*
Humans
Infusions, Intravenous / methods
beta-Lactams / administration & dosage*
beta-Lactams / pharmacokinetics

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
beta-Lactams