Guidelines for Antibiotic Prescription in Intensive Care Unit

Time-dependent antibiotics require drug concentrations greater than the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for a certain period between doses, which usually ranges from 40 to 50% of the inter-dose interval for their best action. Continuous infusions are preferred over extended infusions for beta-lactam antibiotics and are associated with clinical benefits like a decrease in hospital stay, cost of therapy and mortality. For vancomycin, continuous infusion is associated with reduced toxicity and cost of therapy but no mortality benefit.