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

Prolonged infusion (PI) of beta-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 beta-lactam antibiotic administration. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. and the International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.