[Therapeutic drug monitoring of antimicrobials]

The importance of dose adjustments of antimicrobials based on measured concentrations in an individual ('therapeutic drug monitoring', TDM) is increasingly recognized. There are several reasons for this. First, there is a better understanding of the relationships between doses administered, concentrations achieved and effects of antimicrobials. Second, adverse events from antimicrobials and their relationship to drug concentrations are better described. Third, analytical methods to measure concentrations have become more widely available. In this article, we provide an overview of the situation of available antimicrobials in the Netherlands for which TDM is or could be indicated.