Beta-lactam Pharmacokinetic Profiles in Patients With Infective Endocarditis

Comorbidity is common in patients admitted with infective endocarditis and this may effect the pharmacokinetics of antibiotics. The same dose of antibiotics may therefore result in different plasma concentrations in different patients, and this might influence possible side-effects, toxicity and treatment failure.

To investigate this further, all patients admitted with infective endocarditis, treated with Beta-lactam antibiotics, will be followed and have two blood tests withdrawn once a week during antibiotic treatment, an expected average of 5 weeks. Beta-lactam is administered every 6th hour. The first blood test will be withdrawn three hours after antibiotic infusion. The second blood test will be withdrawn right before the next antibiotic infusion. There is no intervention in the study, the results are observational. The results will contribute to assess the efficacy and quality of the treatment and help evaluate whether plasma concentration of antibiotics should be taken as a routine blood test every week in patients with infective endocarditis.