Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Meropenem in Febrile Neutropenic Patients with Bacteremia

Abstract

To our knowledge, this is the first published report of a relationship between a pharmacodynamic index and clinical outcome in a febrile neutropenic population. Based on this relationship, dosing with intravenous meropenem 500 mg every 6 hours is predicted to be comparable to the currently recommended 1 g every 8 hours for serious infections. Our model provides further justification for a prospective clinical trial to evaluate a pharmacodynamically targeted meropenem dosing schedule as to its ability to improve clinical outcome in these patients.