Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy
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Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. · Sep 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialPopulation pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of continuous versus short-term infusion of imipenem-cilastatin in critically ill patients in a randomized, controlled trial.
Beta-lactams are regularly administered in intermittent short-term infusions. The percentage of the dosing interval during which free drug concentrations exceed the MIC (fT(>MIC)) is the measure of drug exposure that best correlates with clinical outcome for beta-lactams. Therefore, administration by continuous infusion has gained increasing interest recently. ⋯ Although all 20 patients had an fT(>MIC) of 100%, 3 patients died. Patient survival was best described by employing a sepsis-related organ failure assessment score as a covariate in a logistic regression analysis. Larger clinical trials are warranted for evaluation of continuous infusions at a reduced dose of imipenem for critically ill patients.