Cefiderocol in Critically Ill Patients with Multi-Drug Resistant Pathogens: Real-Life Data on Pharmacokinetics and Microbiological Surveillance

Cefiderocol is a new siderophore-cephalosporin for the treatment of multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens. As a reserve agent, it will and should be used primarily in critically ill patients in the upcoming years. Due to the novelty of the substance little data on the pharmacokinetics in critically ill patients with septic shock and renal failure (including continuous renal replacement therapy and cytokine adsorber therapy) is available. We performed therapeutic drug monitoring in a cohort of five patients treated with cefiderocol, to improve the knowledge on pharmacokinetics in this vulnerable patient population. As expected for a cephalosporin with predominantly renal elimination the maintenance dose could be reduced in patients with renal impairment or on continuous renal replacement therapy. The manufacturer's dosing instructions were sufficient to achieve a drug level well above the MIC. However, the addition of a cytokine adsorber might reduce serum levels substantially, so that in this context therapeutic drug monitoring and dose adjustment are recommended.

Automated summary

Cefiderocol is a novel siderophore-cephalosporin used for treating multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens, primarily in critically ill patients. Despite effective dosing instructions, therapeutic drug monitoring and dose adjustment may be necessary, especially in the presence of a cytokine adsorber, to maintain drug levels in vulnerable patient populations such as those with septic shock and renal failure.