Introduction:

The main objective of the study was to evaluate the need for posologic adjustment of ceftriaxone in critical hypoproteinemic patients.

Patients and methods:

Observational and retrospective study, carried out in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the General University Hospital of Ciudad Real (21-bed medical-surgical), which included patients treated with ceftriaxone in the ICU from January 2014 to December 2019 and classified into two groups at the beginning of treatment: normoproteinemic (total proteins >5.5 g/dl) and hypoproteinemic (total proteins ≤5.5g/dl) patients. Main variables: Age, sex, APACHE II, diagnosis-location of the infectious site, ICU stay, ceftriaxone dose, dosage regimen, concomitant antibiotic treatment, empirical or targeted antibiotic treatment, need to change treatment, days of antibiotic therapy and mortality.

Results:

98 patients were included (44 normoproteinemics and 54 hypoproteinemics).

No statistically significant differences were obtained between the basal characteristics of both groups, except for the location of the infectious site, being respiratory more frequently in the group of normoproteinemic patients (p=0.044). Statistically significant differences were obtained in favour of the group of normoproteinemic patients for: stay in ICU (p=0.001), need for change of antibiotic treatment (p=0.004), days of antibiotherapy (p=0.007) and mortality (p=0.046).

Conclusion:

The therapeutic results obtained in the group of critical hypoproteinemic patients treated with ceftriaxone show the need to consider hypoproteinemia as a factor that could condition such result if the usual treatment dosage guidelines are used.

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