Comparison of the probability of target attainment of anidulafungin against Candida spp. in patients with acute leukaemia

Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Target Attainment of Different Antifungal Agents in De-escalation Treatment in Critically Ill Patients: a Step toward Dose Optimization Using Monte Carlo Simulation

Differences in pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) target attainment are rarely considered when antifungals are switched in critically ill patients. This study intends to explore whether the antifungal de-escalation treatment strategy and the new intermittent dosing strategy of echinocandins in critically ill patients are able to achieve the corresponding PK/PD targets. The published population PK models of antifungals in critically ill patients and a public data set from the MIMIC-III database (n = 662) were employed to evaluate PK/PD target attainment of different dosing regimens of antifungals. Cumulative fraction of response (CFR) was calculated for each dosing regimen. Most guideline-recommended dosing regimens of fluconazole and voriconazole could achieve target exposure as de-escalation treatment in critically ill patients. For initial echinocandin treatment, achievement of the target exposure decreased as body weight increased, and the intermittent dosing strategy had a slightly higher CFR value in most simulations compared to conventional dosing strategy. For Candida albicans and Candida glabrata infection, caspofungin at the lowest dose achieved a CFR of >90%, while micafungin or anidulafungin required almost the highest doses simulated in this study to achieve the same effect. None of the echinocandins other than 150 mg every 24 h (q24h) or 200 mg q48h of caspofungin achieved the target CFR for Candida parapsilosis infection. These findings support the guideline-recommended dose of triazoles for antifungal de-escalation treatment and confirm the insufficient dosage of echinocandins in critically ill patients, indicating that a dosing regimen based on body weight or intermittent dosing of echinocandins may be required.

Case Report: Predicting the Range of Lamotrigine Concentration Using Pharmacokinetic Models Based on Monte Carlo Simulation: A Case Study of Antiepileptic Drug-Related Leukopenia

Lamotrigine (LTG), a wide-spectrum antiepileptic drug, is frequently associated with cutaneous side-effects, whereas hematological side-effects such as leukopenia have rarely been reported for it. We report the case of a 15-year-old Chinese female epileptic patient weighing 60 kg who developed combined asymptomatic leukopenia after receiving concomitant therapy with LTG and valproate acid (VPA). In this case report, antiepileptic drug-related leukopenia may have occurred in definite relation to an increase in LTG concentration and reversed with the discontinuation of VPA. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were performed to estimate the steady-state serum concentrations (C_ss) of LTG for different dosing regimens in adolescent Chinese epileptic patients weighing the same as the patient considered in the case study, based on pharmacokinetic (PK) models published in past research. Adjustments to the dosage of LTG for the patient were analyzed to illustrate the application of MC simulations and verify the results. The predicted LTG concentrations within a prediction interval between the 10th and 90th percentiles that represented 80% of the simulated populations, could adequately capture the measured LTG concentrations of the patient, indicating that MC simulations are a useful tool for estimating drug concentrations. Clinicians may benefit from the timely probabilistic predictions of the range of drug concentration based on an MC simulation that considers a large sample of virtual patients. The case considered here highlights the importance of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and implementing model-informed precision dosing in the course of a patient’s individualized treatment to minimize adverse reactions.

[Echinocandins: Applied pharmacology]

The echinocandins share pharmacodynamic properties, although there are some interesting differences in their pharmacokinetic behaviour in the clinical practice. They are not absorbed by the oral route. They have a somewhat special distribution in the organism, as some of them can reach high intracellular concentrations while, with some others, the concentration is reduced. They are highly bound to plasma proteins, thus it is recommended to administer a loading dose for anidulafungin and caspofungin, although this procedure is not yet clear with micafungin. Echinocandins are excreted via a non-microsomal metabolism, so the urinary concentration is very low. Some carrier proteins that take part in the biliary clearance process are probably involved in the interactions described with caspofungin and micafungin. These two drugs must be used with caution in patients with severely impaired hepatic function, while all of them can be used without special precautions when there is renal impairment or the patient requires renal replacement therapy.

Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis of voriconazole against Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp. in children, adolescents and adults by Monte Carlo simulation

The objective of this study was to investigate the cumulative fraction of response of various voriconazole dosing regimens against six Candida and six Aspergillus spp. in immunocompromised children, immunocompromised adolescents, and adults. Using pharmacokinetic parameters and pharmacodynamic data, 5000-subject Monte Carlo simulations (MCSs) were conducted to evaluate the ability of simulated dosing strategies in terms of fAUC/MIC targets of voriconazole. According to the results of the MCSs, current voriconazole dosage regimens were all effective for children, adolescents and adults against Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis and Candida orthopsilosis. For adults, dosing regimens of 4 mg/kg intravenous every 12 h (q12h) and 300 mg orally q12h were sufficient to treat fungal infections by six Candida spp. (C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei and C. orthopsilosis) and five Aspergillus spp. (Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus nidulans). However, high doses should be recommended for children and adolescents in order to achieve better clinical efficacy against A. fumigatus and A. nidulans. The current voriconazole dosage regimens were all ineffective against A. niger for children and adolescents. All voriconazole dosage regimens were not optimal against Aspergillus versicolor. This is the first study to evaluate clinical therapy of various voriconazole dosing regimens against Candida and Aspergillus spp. infections in children, adolescents and adults using MCS. The pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic-based dosing strategy provided a theoretical rationale for identifying optimal voriconazole dosage regimens in children, adolescents and adults in order to maximise clinical response and minimise the probability of exposure-related toxicity.

Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic adequacy of echinocandins against Candida spp. in intensive care unit patients and general patient populations

This study evaluated whether contemporary echinocandin regimens achieved pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets in ICU patients and general patient populations (GPPs) and assessed caspofungin (CAS) regimens in hepatic impairment (HI) patients. A Monte Carlo simulation was performed using previously published data. Recommended dosing regimens of echinocandins in ICU patients, GPPs and healthy volunteers were evaluated: 70mg loading dose then 50mg maintenance dose (70/50mg) for CAS; 100mg q24h for micafungin (MCF); and 200/100mg for anidulafungin (ANF). Moreover, CAS 70mg and 100mg q24h in GPPs, and CAS 70/50mg and 70/35mg in mild and moderate HI patients, respectively, were evaluated. Cumulative fraction of response (CFR) was calculated for each dosing regimen. For Candida albicans, CFRs for the recommended doses of CAS, MCF and ANF were 95.8%, 13.5% and 50.5% in ICU patients and 96.3%, 42.4% and 61.6% in GPPs, respectively; for Candida glabrata, CFRs were 99.4%, 90.6% and 44.6% in ICU patients and 99.5%, 97.1% and 59.8% in GPPs. For Candida parapsilosis, CFRs of echinocandins for standard regimens were <70%; only CAS 100mg q24h achieved the target CFR. CAS 70/50mg and 70/35mg in mild and moderate HI patients were appropriate. Considerable interindividual variability was observed. For C. albicans and C. glabrata, CAS is good choice both for ICU and other patient populations, but for C. parapsilosis an increased dose should be considered. For MCF and ANF, administering higher doses with longer dosing intervals achieves better target attainment and should be investigated in clinical trials.