Drug dosing during continuous renal replacement therapy

Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) has given clinicians an important option in the care of critically ill patients. The slow and continuous dialysate and ultrafiltrate flow rates that are employed with CRRT can yield drug clearances similar to an analogous glomerular filtration rate of the native kidneys. Advantages such as superior volume control, excellent metabolic control, and hemodynamic tolerance by critically ill patients are well documented, but an understanding of drug dosing for CRRT is still a bit of a mystery. Although some pharmaceutical companies have dedicated postmarket research in this direction, many pharmaceutical companies have chosen not to pursue this information as it is not mandated and represents a relatively small part of their market. This lack of valuable information has created many challenges in the care of the critically ill patient as intermittent hemodialysis drug dosing recommendations cannot be extrapolated to CRRT. This drug dosing review will highlight factors that clinicians should consider when determining a pharmacotherapy regimen for a patient receiving CRRT.