Résumé
•A summary of our understanding of pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) for optimal antimicrobial dosing•A summary for optimal treatment of special patient populations•New strategies for novel antimicrobial administration, including nebulisation, intraventricular and intraperitoneal dosing
Post-licensing pharmacometric studies can provide a better understanding of the pharmacokinetic (PK) alterations in special patient populations and may lead to better clinical outcomes. Some patient populations exhibit markedly different pathophysiology to general ward patients or healthy individuals. This may be developmental (paediatric patients), a manifestation of an underlying disease pathology (patients with obesity or haematological malignancies) or due to medical interventions (critically ill patients receiving extracorporeal therapies). This paper outlines the factors that affect the PK of special patient populations and describes some novel methods of antimicrobial administration that may increase antimicrobial concentrations at the site of infection and improve treatment of severe infection.