Intravenous β‐lactam antibiotics remain a cornerstone in the management of bacterial infections due to their broad spectrum of activity and excellent tolerability. β‐lactams are well established to display time‐dependent bactericidal activity, where reductions in bacterial burden are directly associated with the time that free drug concentrations remain above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the pathogen during the dosing interval. In an effort to take advantage of these bactericidal characteristics, prolonged (extended and continuous) infusions (PIs) can be applied during the administration of intravenous β‐lactams to increase time above the MIC. PI dosing regimens have been implemented worldwide, but implementation is inconsistent. We report consensus therapeutic recommendations for the use of PI β‐lactams developed by an expert international panel with representation from clinical pharmacy and medicine. This consensus guideline provides recommendations regarding pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic targets, therapeutic drug‐monitoring considerations, and the use of PI β‐lactam therapy in the following patient populations: severely ill and nonseverely ill adult patients, pediatric patients, and obese patients. These recommendations provide the first consensus guidance for the use of β‐lactam therapy administered as PIs and have been reviewed and endorsed by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC), the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP).

Beta-lactams remain a critical member of our antibiotic armamentarium and are among the most commonly prescribed antibiotic classes in the inpatient setting. For these agents, the percentage of time that the free concentration remains above the minimum inhibitory concentration (%fT > MIC) of the pathogen has been shown to be the best predictor of antibacterial killing effects. However, debate remains about the quantity of fT > MIC exposure needed for successful clinical response. While pre-clinical animal based studies, such as the neutropenic thigh infection model, have been widely used to support dosing regimen selection for clinical development and susceptibility breakpoint evaluation, pharmacodynamic based studies in human patients are used validate exposures needed in the clinic and for guidance during therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). For the majority of studied beta-lactams, pre-clinical animal studies routinely demonstrated the fT > MIC should exceed approximately 40–70% fT > MIC to achieve 1 log reductions in colony forming units. In contrast, clinical studies tend to suggest higher exposures may be needed, but tremendous variability exists study to study. Herein, we will review and critique pre-clinical versus human-based pharmacodynamic studies aimed at determining beta-lactam exposure thresholds, so as to determine which targets may be best suited for optimal dosage selection, TDM, and for susceptibility breakpoint determination. Based on our review of murine and clinical literature on beta-lactam pharmacodynamic thresholds, murine based targets specific to each antibiotic are most useful during dosage regimen development and susceptibility breakpoint assessment, while a range of exposures between 50 and 100% fT > MIC are reasonable to define the beta-lactam TDM therapeutic window for most infections.

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is increasing in prevalence. Polymyxin B and tigecycline are among the most active antibiotics used against this pathogen in vitro . Past in vitro studies, however, neglected the importance of simulating exposures observed in humans to determine their antibacterial effects. In this study, four carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii isolates were evaluated using an in vitro pharmacodynamic model. Free-drug exposures using 1 mg/kg of body weight of polymyxin B every 12 h (q12h), 100 and 200 mg tigecycline q12h, and the combination of these regimens were simulated. The microbiological responses to these treatments were measured by the change in log ₁₀ CFU/ml over 24 h and the area under the bacterial killing and regrowth curve (AUBC). Resistance was assessed by a population analysis profile (PAP) conducted after 24 h of treatment. Polymyxin B achieved a reduction on the order of −2.05 ± 0.68 log ₁₀ CFU/ml against these A. baumannii isolates, while all isolates grew to control levels with tigecycline monotherapy. Combination therapy with polymyxin B plus 200 mg tigecycline q12h achieved a greater reduction in bacterial density than did therapy with polymyxin B alone (−3.31 ± 0.71 versus −2.05 ± 0.68 log ₁₀ CFU/ml, P < 0.001) but not significantly different than combination therapy with 100 mg tigecycline q12h (−2.45 ± 1.00 log ₁₀ CFU/ml, P = 0.370). Likewise, combination therapy with polymyxin B plus 200 mg tigecycline q12h significantly reduced the AUBC compared to that with polymyxin B alone (62.8 ± 8.9 versus 79.4 ± 10.5 log ₁₀ CFU/ml, P < 0.05). No changes in the PAP from baseline were observed for either antibiotic alone. In this study, combination therapy with simulated exposures of polymyxin B and tigecycline at an aggressive dose of 200 mg q12h produced synergistic or additive effects on humans against these multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strains.

Ceftolozane-tazobactam has potent activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa , a pathogen associated with cystic fibrosis (CF) acute pulmonary exacerbations (APE). Due to the rapid elimination of many antibiotics, CF patients frequently have altered pharmacokinetics. In this multicenter, open-label study, we described the population pharmacokinetics and safety of ceftolozane-tazobactam at 3 g every 8 h (q8h) in 20 adult CF patients admitted with APE. Population pharmacokinetics were determined using the nonparametric adaptive grid program in Pmetrics for R. A 5,000-patient Monte Carlo simulation was performed to determine the probability of target attainment (PTA) for the ceftolozane component at 1.5 g and 3 g of ceftolozane-tazobactam q8h across a range of MICs using a primary threshold exposure of 60% free time above the MIC ( fT >MIC). In these 20 adult CF patients, ceftolozane and tazobactam concentration data were best described by 2-compartment models, and ceftolozane clearance (CL) was significantly correlated with creatinine clearance ( r = 0.71, P < 0.001). These data suggest that ceftolozane and tazobactam clearance estimates in CF patients are similar to those in adults without CF (ceftolozane CF CL, 4.76 ± 1.13 liter/h; tazobactam CF CL, 20.51 ± 4.41 liter/h). However, estimates of the volume of the central compartment ( V _c ) were lower than those for adults without CF (ceftolozane CF V _c , 7.51 ± 2.05 liters; tazobactam CF V _c , 7.85 ± 2.66 liters). Using a threshold of 60% fT >MIC, ceftolozane-tazobactam regimens of 1.5 g and 3 g q8h should achieve PTAs of ≥90% at MICs up to 4 and 8 μg/ml, respectively. Ceftolozane-tazobactam at 3 g q8h was well tolerated. These observations support additional studies of ceftolozane-tazobactam for Pseudomonas aeruginosa APE in CF patients. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT02421120.)