Abstract

The objective of this study is to develop and validate a population pharmacokinetic model for vancomycin in critically ill patients and investigate the impact of different dosing strategies on achieving therapeutic drug levels.Critically ill patients often have altered pharmacokinetics due to factors such as changes in renal function, fluid shifts, and the presence of comorbidities. Vancomycin is commonly used in this patient population, and optimizing its dosing is crucial to achieve therapeutic efficacy while avoiding toxicity. Population pharmacokinetic modeling allows for individualized dosing recommendations based on patient-specific factors, and therapeutic drug monitoring helps ensure adequate drug levels. This study will involve collecting pharmacokinetic data from a cohort of critically ill patients receiving vancomycin. Blood samples will be collected at various time points to measure vancomycin concentrations. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and laboratory data will also be collected. Population pharmacokinetic modeling techniques, such as nonlinear mixed-effects modeling, will be employed to develop a model that describes the vancomycin pharmacokinetics in this specific patient population. The model will be validated using an independent dataset. Subsequently, simulations will be conducted to compare different dosing strategies, such as continuous infusion versus intermittent dosing, and different dosing regimens based on patient characteristics.