Piperacillin-tazobactam dosing in anuric acute kidney injury patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy.

Introduction: To determine appropriate dosing of piperacillin-tazobactam in critically ill patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT).

Methods: The databases of PubMed, Embase, and ScienceDirect were searched. We used the Medical Subject Headings of "piperacillin-tazobactam," "CRRT," and "pharmacokinetics" or related terms or synonym to identify the studies for reviews. A one-compartment pharmacokinetic model was conducted to predict piperacillin levels for the initial 48 h of therapy. The pharmacodynamic target was 50% of free drug level above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and 4 times of the MIC. The dose that achieved at least 90% of the probability of target attainment was defined as an optimal dose.

Results: Our simulation study reveals that the dosing regimen of piperacillin-tazobactam 12 g/day is appropriate for treating Pseudomonal infection with KDIGO recommended effluent rate of 25-35 mL/kg/h. The MIC values of each setting were an important factor to design piperacillin-tazobactam dosing regimens.

Conclusion: The Monte Carlo simulation can be a useful tool to evaluate drug dosing in critically ill acute kidney injury patients receiving CRRT when limited pharmacokinetic data are a concern. Clinical validation of these results is needed.