Ciprofloxacin in Patients Undergoing Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO): A Population Pharmacokinetic Study

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is utilized to temporarily sustain respiratory and/or cardiac function in critically ill patients. Ciprofloxacin is used to treat nosocomial infections, but data describing the effect of ECMO on its pharmacokinetics is lacking. Therefore, a prospective, observational trial including critically ill adults (<i>n</i> = 17), treated with ciprofloxacin (400 mg 8–12 hourly) during ECMO, was performed. Serial blood samples were collected to determine ciprofloxacin concentrations to assess their pharmacokinetics. The pharmacometric modeling was performed (NONMEM^®) and utilized for simulations to evaluate the probability of target attainment (PTA) to achieve an AUC_0–24/MIC of 125 mg·h/L for ciprofloxacin. A two-compartment model most adequately described the concentration-time data of ciprofloxacin. Significant covariates on ciprofloxacin clearance (CL) were plasma bicarbonate and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). For pathogens with an MIC of ≤0.25 mg/L, a PTA of ≥90% was attained. However, for pathogens with an MIC of ≥0.5 mg/L, plasma bicarbonate ≥ 22 mmol/L or eGFR ≥ 10 mL/min PTA decreased below 90%, steadily declining to 7.3% (plasma bicarbonate 39 mmol/L) and 21.4% (eGFR 150 mL/min), respectively. To reach PTAs of ≥90% for pathogens with MICs ≥ 0.5 mg/L, optimized dosing regimens may be required.