National survey on continuous and extended infusions of antibiotics.

PURPOSE: A national survey was conducted to evaluate the use of continuous and extended infusions for administering β-lactams and vancomycin.

METHODS

The survey was sent to a random sample of 1000 acute care hospital pharmacists in the United States to evaluate the use of continuous and extended infusions of antibiotics. In addition, the same survey was sent to members of the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) to assess the adoption of these infusion strategies.

RESULTS

In the random-sample survey, 29 (11.2%) and 15 (5.8%) hospitals reported using continuous and extended infusions, respectively. Common rationales for adopting continuous and extended infusions were greater efficacy, equal or less toxicity, and cost savings. The SIDP survey revealed that 30 (50%) and 21 (35%) of responding pharmacists have initiated continuous and extended infusions, respectively. Common rationales for adopting continuous and extended infusions were greater efficacy, equal or less toxicity, and cost savings. Both surveys found that penicillins were the antibiotics most frequently administered as continuous and extended infusions.

CONCLUSION

The results of a survey sent to a random sample of hospital pharmacists and to SIDP members indicated that the majority did not use either continuous or extended infusions of antibiotics. SIDP survey respondents more frequently reported the use of both continuous and extended infusions than the respondents of the random-sample survey, and the percentage of time above the minimum inhibitory concentration was the most frequently assessed pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic parameter for both groups.