Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Antimicrobials in Critically Ill Patients

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Drugs".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2025) | Viewed by 2148

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Sciences, The Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX, USA
Interests: critical care; infectious diseases; anticoagulants; pharmacotherapy in the obese

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite numerous therapeutic innovations, infection-related mortality in critically ill patients persists as a significant healthcare concern. Early initiation of antimicrobials is essential to improve the clinical outcomes of infections in critically ill patients. Additionally, correct dosage of antimicrobials is extremely important to ensure their adequate exposure. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is the most commonly recommended strategy to evaluate exposure and adapt dosing in critically ill patients.

This Special Issue welcomes all types of submissions (original research papers, short communications, reviews, case reports and perspectives) related to antimicrobial TDM in critically ill patients.

Prof. Dr. Young Ran Lee
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM)
  • antibiotics
  • antimicrobials
  • pharmacokinetic
  • pharmacodynamic
  • critically ill

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 549 KiB  
Article
Impact of Recovery from Febrile Neutropenia on Intra-Individual Variability in Vancomycin Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients
by Yukie Takumi, Ryota Tanaka, Motoshi Iwao, Ryosuke Tatsuta and Hiroki Itoh
Antibiotics 2025, 14(6), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14060570 - 2 Jun 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: The pharmacokinetics of vancomycin (VCM) in patients with febrile neutropenia (FN) are highly variable due to coexisting conditions such as systemic inflammatory response syndrome and augmented renal clearance. Upon hematopoietic recovery, VCM clearance (CLvcm) is expected to normalize, which contributes to intra-individual [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The pharmacokinetics of vancomycin (VCM) in patients with febrile neutropenia (FN) are highly variable due to coexisting conditions such as systemic inflammatory response syndrome and augmented renal clearance. Upon hematopoietic recovery, VCM clearance (CLvcm) is expected to normalize, which contributes to intra-individual variability. This study aimed to investigate the factors contributing to intra-individual variability in CLvcm among pediatric patients with FN. Methods: This retrospective, single-center study analyzed 33 pediatric patients (48 FN episodes) who met the inclusion criteria. CLvcm was estimated using Bayesian estimation based on the pediatric population pharmacokinetic model developed by Le et al., and standardized with allometrically scaled body weight. The change (Δ) in each clinical laboratory parameter or CLvcm was calculated as the difference between the values at the current and previous TDM within the same episode. Results: A total of 155 VCM TDM data points were analyzed. Intra-individual comparisons revealed that CLvcm decreased significantly in patients recovering from FN to a non-FN state (n = 18, p = 0.0285). Further analysis of intra-individual variability revealed that Δ CLvcm correlated significantly with Δ hemoglobin, Δ C-reactive protein, and Δ maximum daily body temperature, with the strongest correlation observed for Δ maximum daily body temperature (rs = 0.325, p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis confirmed Δ maximum daily body temperature as a significant factor influencing Δ CLvcm (B = 0.376, 95% CI: 0.074 to 0.678, p = 0.015). Conclusions: Maximum daily body temperature was identified as a factor influencing intra-individual variability in CLvcm in pediatric FN patients, particularly during the recovery process from FN to a non-FN state. The finding suggests that dose adjustment based on maximum daily body temperature may allow safe and effective VCM therapy in FN patients. Full article
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9 pages, 578 KiB  
Article
A Retrospective Analysis of Intravenous Push versus Extended Infusion Meropenem in Critically Ill Patients
by Emory G. Johnson, Kayla Maki Ortiz, David T. Adams, Satwinder Kaur, Andrew C. Faust, Hui Yang, Carlos A. Alvarez and Ronald G. Hall 2nd
Antibiotics 2024, 13(9), 835; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13090835 - 2 Sep 2024
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Abstract
Meropenem is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used for the treatment of multi-drug-resistant infections. Due to its pharmacokinetic profile, meropenem’s activity is optimized by maintaining a specific time the serum concentration remains above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) via extended infusion (EI), continuous infusion, or [...] Read more.
Meropenem is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used for the treatment of multi-drug-resistant infections. Due to its pharmacokinetic profile, meropenem’s activity is optimized by maintaining a specific time the serum concentration remains above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) via extended infusion (EI), continuous infusion, or intermittent infusion dosing strategies. The available literature varies regarding the superiority of these dosing strategies. This study’s primary objective was to determine the difference in time to clinical stabilization between intravenous push (IVP) and EI administration. We performed a retrospective pilot cohort study of 100 critically ill patients who received meropenem by IVP (n = 50) or EI (n = 50) during their intensive care unit (ICU) admission. There was no statistically significant difference in the overall achievement of clinical stabilization between IVP and EI (48% vs. 44%, p = 0.17). However, the median time to clinical stability was shorter for the EI group (20.4 vs. 66.2 h, p = 0.01). EI administration was associated with shorter hospital (13 vs. 17 days; p = 0.05) and ICU (6 vs. 9 days; p = 0.02) lengths of stay. Although we did not find a statistically significant difference in the overall time to clinical stabilization, the results of this pilot study suggest that EI administration may produce quicker clinical resolutions than IVP. Full article
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