ArticleAnnals of intensive care2012
Continuous infusion of antibiotics in the critically ill: The new holy grail for beta-lactams and vancomycin?
Article in Annals of intensive care, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- β-lactam infusion strategies in critical illness: is continuous superior to extended infusion? A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in epidemiology · 2026Pooled it
- Continuous or extended vs intermittent infusions of beta-lactam antibiotics in ICU patients with pneumonia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2025Pooled it
- Anti-infective Medicines Use in Children and Neonates With Pre-existing Kidney Dysfunction: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2022Pooled it
- Lung concentrations of ceftazidime administered by continuous versus intermittent infusion in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2015Trial
- Next-generation broad-spectrum reactivators for effective countermeasure against organophosphorus poisoning.Archives of toxicology · 2026Article
- Pharmacokinetics and Customized Dosing of Vancomycin in Adult Patients With Hematological Malignancies: Status, Challenges, and Opportunities.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Review
- A General Analytic Approach to Predicting the Best Antibiotic Dosing Regimen.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- "Dusting Off the Cobwebs": Rethinking How We Use New Antibiotics.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Beta-lactam exposure and safety in intermittent or continuous infusion in critically ill children: an observational monocenter study.European journal of pediatrics · 2023Observational
- Why We May Need Higher Doses of Beta-Lactam Antibiotics: Introducing the 'Maximum Tolerable Dose'.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Continuous Versus Intermittent Linezolid Infusion for Critically Ill Patients with Hospital-Acquired and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: Efficacy and Safety Challenges.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Target Attainment of Vancomycin, at Three Reported Infusion Modes, for Methicillin-ResistantFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Article
- Detecting medication errors associated with the use of beta-lactams in the Russian Pharmacovigilance database.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2021Article
- Vancomycin is commonly under-dosed in critically ill children and neonates.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2019Article
- Beta-lactams in continuous infusion for Gram-negative bacilli osteoarticular infections: an easy method for clinical use.Infection · 2018Article
- [Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antibiotic therapy].Der Anaesthesist · 2014Review
- Optimizing antimicrobial therapy in critically ill patients.Infection and drug resistance · 2014Review
- A survey of beta-lactam antibiotics and vancomycin dosing strategies in intensive care units and general wards in Belgian hospitals.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2013Article
- Therapeutic drug monitoring for tomorrow.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2013Review
- A specially tailored vancomycin continuous infusion regimen for renally impaired critically ill patients.SAGE open medicine · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The alarming global rise of antimicrobial resistance combined with the lack of new antimicrobial agents has led to a renewed interest in optimization of our current antibiotics. Continuous infusion (CI) of time-dependent antibiotics has certain theoretical advantages toward efficacy based on pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic principles. We reviewed the available clinical studies concerning continuous infusion of beta-lactam antibiotics and vancomycin in critically ill patients. We conclude that CI of beta-lactam antibiotics is not necessarily more advantageous for all patients. Continuous infusion is only likely to have clinical benefits in subpopulations of patients where intermittent infusion is unable to achieve an adequate time above the minimal inhibitory concentration (T > MIC). For example, in patients with infections caused by organisms with elevated MICs, patients with altered pharmacokinetics (such as the critically ill) and possibly also immunocompromised patients. For vancomycin CI can be chosen, not always for better clinical efficacy, but because it is practical, cheaper, associated with less AUC24h (area under the curve >24 h)-variability, and easier to monitor.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.