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Observational Study
. 2025 Sep;51(9):1628-1640.
doi: 10.1007/s00134-025-08067-w. Epub 2025 Aug 13.

Meropenem and piperacillin/tazobactam optimised dosing regimens for critically ill patients receiving renal replacement therapy

Jason A Roberts #  1   2   3   4   5 Marta Ulldemolins #  6 Xin Liu  6 João P Baptista  7 Irma Bilgrami  8 Clement Boidin  6   9   10 Alexander Brinkmann  11 Pedro Castro  12   13 Gordon Choi  14 Louise Cole  15   16 Jan J De Waele  17   18 Renae Deans  6 Sine Donnellan  19 Glenn M Eastwood  20 Otto R Frey  21 Sylvain Goutelle  9   10 Rebecca Gresham  16 Janattul Ain Jamal  22 Gavin M Joynt  14 Salmaan Kanji  23   24 Stefan Kluge  25 Christina König  25   26 Vasilios P Koulouras  27 Melissa Lassig-Smith  28 Pierre-Francois Laterre  29 Anna Lee  14 Jean-Yves Lefrant  30 Katie Lei  31 Patricia Leung  14 Mireia Llaurado-Serra  32 Ignacio Martin-Loeches  33   34 Mohd Basri Mat Nor  35 Yugan Mudaliar  36 Marlies Ostermann  31 Sanjoy K Paul  37 Sandra L Peake  38   39   40 Jordi Rello  30   41   42 Darren M Roberts  43   44 Michael S Roberts  45   46   47 Brent Richards  48 Alejandro Rodríguez  42   49   50   51 Anka C Roehr  21 Claire Roger  30 Leonardo Seoane  52   53   54 Mahipal Sinnollareddy  45   46 Eduardo Sousa  7 Dolors Soy  13   55   56 Anna Spring  57 Therese Starr  28 Dianne Stephens  8   58   59 Fabio Silvio Taccone  60 Jane Thomas  8 John Turnidge  61 Miia Valkonen  62 Julie M Varghese  6 Steven C Wallis  6 Robert J Walker  19   63 Tricia Williams  38   39   40 Luke C Wilson  63 Xavier Wittebole  29 Daniel F B Wright  64   65   66 Xanthi T Zikou  67 Rinaldo Bellomo  20   68   69   70   71 Jeffrey Lipman  6   28   30   72 SMARRT Study Collaborators
Collaborators, Affiliations
Observational Study

Meropenem and piperacillin/tazobactam optimised dosing regimens for critically ill patients receiving renal replacement therapy

Jason A Roberts et al. Intensive Care Med. 2025 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: Optimal dosing of meropenem and piperacillin/tazobactam in critically ill patients receiving renal replacement therapy (RRT) is uncertain due to variable pharmacokinetics. We aimed to develop generalisable optimised dosing recommendations for these antibiotics.

Methods: Prospective, multinational pharmacokinetic study including patients requiring various forms of RRT. Independent population PK models were developed, externally validated and applied to perform Monte Carlo dosing simulations using Monolix and Simulx. We calculated the probability that these dosing regimens achieved standard and high therapeutic unbound antibiotic concentrations over 100% of the dosing interval for the treatment of Enterobacterales and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Results: We enrolled 300 patients from 22 intensive care units across 12 countries receiving continuous veno-venous haemodialysis (13.0%), haemofiltration (23.3%), haemodiafiltration (48.4%) or sustained low-efficiency dialysis (15.3%). Models were developed using data from 234 patients (8322 samples) and validated with 66 additional patients (560 samples). Predictive performance was high, with mean prediction errors of - 5.2% for meropenem and - 16.9% for piperacillin. Dosing simulations showed that meropenem and piperacillin/tazobactam dosing requirements were dependent on urine output and RRT intensity and duration (p < 0.05). In all scenarios, extended/continuous infusions led to a better achievement of effective concentrations with lower daily doses compared to short infusion. Dosing nomograms were developed to inform dosing for different RRT settings, urine outputs, and target concentrations.

Conclusion: RRT intensity and duration and urine output determine meropenem and piperacillin/tazobactam dosing requirements in critically ill patients receiving RRT. Extended/continuous infusions facilitate the attainment of effective concentrations.

Keywords: Critically ill patients; Dosing nomograms; Meropenem; Pharmacokinetics; Piperacillin/tazobactam; Renal replacement therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflicts of interest: JAR acknowledges consultancies, grant or speaking fees from Sandoz, Qpex, Gilead, Advanz Pharma, Pfizer, MSD, and Biomerieux. CK reports honoraria for speaking/advisory boards from Shionogi and Gilead. SK received research support from CytoSorbents and Daiichi Sankyo. SK also received lecture fees from ADVITOS, Biotest, Daiichi Sankyo, Fresenius Medical Care, Gilead, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, MSD, Pfizer, Shionogi, and ZOLL. SK received consultant fees from Fresenius Medical Care, Gilead, MSD, and Pfizer. MO received research funding from Biomerieux and Baxter (paid to institution). CR received speaker fees from MSD, Pfizer, Shionogi, AOP Orphan, bioMérieux, and Advanz Pharma. CR received fees as Advisory Board member from Advanz Pharma, bioMérieux, and Viatris. JDW has consulted for Biomerieux, Menarini, MSD, Pfizer, Roche Diagnostics, ThermoFisher, and Viatris (fees and honoraria paid to institution). Ethics approval: The study was designed and conducted following the declaration of Helsinki guidelines and received ethics approval from the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC/13/QRBW/1) as the lead site. All other participating sites also obtained individual HREC approval. In memoriam: The authors would like to acknowledge and honour the extraordinary contribution of Professor Rinaldo Bellomo not only to this project but to the broader field of medical research dedicated to the care of the critically ill patient. His exceptional career in clinical practise, research, and mentorship has resulted in major advancements in intensive care medicine and has profoundly impacted the careers and lives of many healthcare professionals around the globe. With the present work, we would like to pay tribute to his unique individual.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic algorithm illustrating the dose decision-making process based on the primary determinants of meropenem and piperacillin/tazobactam dosing requirements, using the dosing nomograms

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