Blood level measurements and antimicrobial agents

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Abstract
This review focuses on some of the unique charaeteristics of antimicrobial agents as distinct from other pharmacologic agents. Antimicrobial agents behave similarly to other drugs, but their unique property rests on their ability to hit their target: an invading mieroorganism rather than a host cell. The blood level of a drug is only indirectly related to distribution in the body. It is useful in assessing potential efficacy of a drug in treatment of bacteremia and in comparative pharmaeokinetic studies, particularly in deriving dosage schedules in normal subiects and in patients with renal or hepatic failure, but serves only as a rough gauge to activity at the site of infection. Design and evaluation of new antimierobial agents therefore depend not only on pharmacokinetic properties but also on an understanding of local factors goveming the distribution and biologic activity of this class of drugs.

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