Principles of empiric antimicrobial therapy

At a glance

• Empiric therapy is a best guess at the likely organisms, made before culture results, then revised.
• Work through five questions: where is the infection, what usually causes it, how resistant are those organisms locally, who is the patient, and how sick are they.
• Choose a dose using pharmacology: volume of distribution sets the loading dose, clearance sets the maintenance dose, and the PK/PD index sets how the drug is given.