Pharmacokinetics of antimicrobials in critically ill paediatric patients.

Very little pharmacokinetic data for critically ill paediatric patients currently exists. It is highly likely that the same pharmacokinetic changes observed in critically ill adults will also occur in children leading to subtherapeutic concentrations that risk treatment failure and the emergence of resistant pathogens.

To date, little data is available to characterise antimicrobial pharmacokinetics in these patients, particularly for antimicrobials recommended by Australian guidelines piperacillin/tazobactam, cefotaxime and vancomycin.

Relevant Publications

Dorofaeff, T., Bandini, R., Lipman, J., Ballot, D., Roberts, J., & Parker, S. (2016). Uncertainty in Antibiotic Dosing in Critically Ill Neonate and Pediatric Patients: Can Microsampling Provide the Answers? Clinical Therapeutics, 38(9), 1961-1975.

DOI: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2016.07.093

Parker, S., Dorofaeff, T., Lipman, J., Ballot, D., Bandini, R., Wallis, S., & Roberts, J. (2016). Is there a role for microsampling in antibiotic pharmacokinetic studies? Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology, 12(6), 601-614.

DOI: 10.1080/17425255.2016.1178238

Roberts, Jason A. (2018) Beta-Lactam Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in the Critically Ill Children: Big Solution for Infections in Small People?. Critical Care Medicine, 46 2: 335-337. doi:10.1097/CCM.0000000000002862