The first international consensus recommendations for the use of prolonged-infusion β-lactams have been reviewed and endorsed by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Society of Critical Care Medicine, and Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists.
Two LLU School of Pharmacy faculty members led the study. Lisa Hong, PharmD, associate professor and director of Interprofessional Education and Alireza FakhriRavari, PharmD, associate professor and the chair of Department of Pharmacy Practice. As members of the 17-person, multidisciplinary author panel, they reviewed the published literature to formulate consensus recommendations for the use of prolonged-infusion beta-lactam antibiotics severely and non-severely ill adult patients, pediatric patients, and patients with obesity. Intravenous β-lactam antibiotics remain a cornerstone in the management of bacterial infections because of their broad spectrum of activity and excellent tolerability. Prolonged (extended and continuous) infusion of β-lactam antibiotics can increase the time above the minimum inhibitory concentration of the pathogen to optimize the reduction in bacterial burden. To date, implementation of prolonged-infusion dosing regimens has been inconsistent.
The consensus recommendations provide guidance regarding the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic targets, therapeutic drug monitoring considerations, and the use of prolonged infusion β-lactam therapy in severely and nonseverely ill adult patients, pediatric patients, and patients with obesity. The Consensus Recommendations and Executive Summary are published open access in the August 2023 issue of Pharmacotherapy, an official journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.
Pharmacotherapy editor-in-chief, Dr. C. Lindsay DeVane, commented:
The tenets of drug dosage regimen design are perhaps more important for antimicrobial use than in many areas of pharmacotherapy. The ability to establish pharmacodynamic goals including minimum inhibitory concentrations allows pharmacokinetic principles theorized and confirmed over several decades to be applied in individual patients to optimize drug efficacy. The availability of consensus recommendations endorsed by international organizations for prolonged infusion of beta-lactam antibiotics provides an impetus to improve the effective treatment of infectious diseases using presently available resources.
Additional Information
International consensus recommendations for the use of prolonged-infusion beta-lactam antibiotics: Endorsed by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Infectious Diseases Society of American, Society of Critical Care Medicine, and Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists.
About PPI
Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc. (PPI) is the corporate journal-publishing unit affiliated with the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP). PPI publishes two official ACCP journals, Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapy.
About ACCP
ACCP is a professional and scientific society that provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources enabling clinical pharmacists to achieve excellence in practice, research, and education. The College serves as the professional home for more than 16,000 clinical pharmacy.