Population pharmacokinetics and target attainment analysis of linezolid in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients.

AIM: This study investigates the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) target attainment of linezolid in patients infected with multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB). METHODS: A pharmacometric model was developed including 244 timed linezolid concentration samples from 39 patients employing NONMEM 7.4. The probability of target attainment (PTA, PK/PD target: unbound (f) area-under-the-concentration-time-curve (AUC)/minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 119) as well as a region-specific cumulative fraction of response (CFR) were estimated for different dosing regimens. RESULTS: A one-compartment model with linear elimination with a clearance (CL) of 7.69 L/h (interindividual variability 34.1%), a volume of distribution (Vd) of 45.2 L and an absorption constant (KA) of 0.679 h-1 (interoccasion variability 143.7%) allometric scaled by weight best described the PK of linezolid. The PTA at an MIC of 0.5 mg/L was 55% or 97% if patients receiving 300 or 600 mg twice daily, respectively. CFRs varied greatly among populations and geographic regions. A desirable global CFR of ≥90% was achieved if linezolid was administered at a dose of 600 mg twice daily but not at a dose of 300 mg twice daily. CONCLUSION: This study showed that a dose of 300 mg twice daily of linezolid might not be sufficient to treat MDR-TB patients from a PK/PD perspective. Thus, it might be recommendable to start with a higher dose of 600 mg twice daily to ensure PK/PD target attainment. Hereby, therapeutic drug monitoring and MIC determination should be performed to control PK/PD target attainment as linezolid shows high variability in its PK in the TB population.

Global and Regional Burden of Hospital Admissions for Pneumonia in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Pneumonia constitutes a substantial disease burden among adults overall and those who are elderly. We aimed to identify all studies investigating the disease burden among older adults (age, ≥65 years) admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. We estimated the hospital admission rate and in-hospital case-fatality ratio (CFR) of pneumonia in older adults, stratified by age and economic status (industrialized vs developing), with data from a systematic review of studies published from 1996 through 2017 and from 8 unpublished population-based studies. We applied these rate estimates to population estimates for 2015 to calculate the global and regional burden in older adults who would have been admitted to the hospital with pneumonia that year. We estimated the number of in-hospital pneumonia deaths by combining in-hospital CFRs with hospital admission estimates from hospital-based studies. We identified 109 eligible studies; 73 used clinical pneumonia as the case definition, and 36 used radiologically confirmed pneumonia as the case definition. We estimated that, in 2015, 6.8 million episodes (uncertainty range [UR], 5.8-8.0 episodes) of clinical pneumonia resulted in hospital admissions of older adults worldwide. The hospital admission rate increased with advancing age and was higher in men. The total disease burden was likely underestimated when using the definition of radiologically confirmed pneumonia. Based on data from 52 hospital studies reporting data on pneumonia mortality, we estimated that about 1.1 million in-hospital deaths (UR, 0.9-1.4 in-hospital deaths) occurred among older adults. The burden of pneumonia requiring hospitalization among older adults is substantial. Appropriate prevention and management strategies should be developed to reduce its impact.

Global Disease Burden Estimates of Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Associated Acute Respiratory Infection in Older Adults in 2015: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Respiratory syncytial virus-associated acute respiratory infection (RSV-ARI) constitutes a substantial disease burden in older adults aged ≥65 years. We aimed to identify all studies worldwide investigating the disease burden of RSV-ARI in this population. We estimated the community incidence, hospitalization rate, and in-hospital case-fatality ratio (hCFR) of RSV-ARI in older adults, stratified by industrialized and developing regions, using data from a systematic review of studies published between January 1996 and April 2018 and 8 unpublished population-based studies. We applied these rate estimates to population estimates for 2015 to calculate the global and regional burdens in older adults with RSV-ARI in the community and in hospitals for that year. We estimated the number of in-hospital deaths due to RSV-ARI by combining hCFR data with hospital admission estimates from hospital-based studies. In 2015, there were about 1.5 million episodes (95% confidence interval [CI], .3 million-6.9 million) of RSV-ARI in older adults in industrialized countries (data for developing countries were missing), and of these, approximately 14.5% (214 000 episodes; 95% CI, 100 000-459 000) were admitted to hospitals. The global number of hospital admissions for RSV-ARI in older adults was estimated at 336 000 hospitalizations (uncertainty range [UR], 186 000-614 000). We further estimated about 14 000 in-hospital deaths (UR, 5000-50 000) related to RSV-ARI globally. The hospital admission rate and hCFR were higher for those aged ≥65 years than for those aged 50-64 years. The disease burden of RSV-ARI among older adults is substantial, with limited data from developing countries. Appropriate prevention and management strategies are needed to reduce this burden.