Temporary interruption of ceftazidime continuous infusion without reduction of activity: a computer-assisted...

Continuous infusion (CI) of ceftazidime has been demonstrated to add clinical advantages in the treatment of infection of neutropenic cancer patients, especially in the presence of gram-negative bacteremia. However, this particular administration route is not always feasible in this particular clinical setting because of the patient's need of additional care or drug administration. The aim of this study was to evaluate, through a computer-assisted simulation, the modifications of drug concentration in presence of a single or repeated 2-hour interruptions of CI ceftazidime in critically ill patients. Our analysis shows that a loading dose of 20 mg/kg, followed by a CI of 100/mg/kg/die, should be able to maintain efficacious plasma concentrations in all subjects, even when it is interrupted for a 2-hour period every 8 hours. Plasma concentrations after interruption should not fall below 8 microg/mL and for about 65-80% of time should reach levels equal to 5 times the MIC of the infecting pathogen. A 2-hour interruption of CI ceftazidime up to 3 times a day is likely to represent a safe and efficacious administration regimen that may enhance the management of the treatment of infectious complications in critically ill patients such as neutropenic cancer patients.