Antimicrobial Dosing in Obesity

Obesity places a significant burden on Australia’s healthcare system. Currently at The Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH), local antimicrobial guidelines do not provide advice on dosing for obese patients. Instead, clinicians are directed to utilise standard dosing advice which has been developed and tested in non-obese patients, thus adopting a one-size-fits-all dosing mentality. The aim of this project was to determine the proportion of admitted patients at the Princess Alexandra Hospital receiving antimicrobial therapy, who are classed as obese (BMI >30kg/m2) as well as audit the current prescribing patterns of antimicrobial dosing in obese patients at the PA Hospital. As a result of the audit findings, it was clear there was a severe lack in dosing advice in this cohort of patients and that antimicrobial dosing most commonly followed standard dosing guidelines with no consideration for the patient's weight. Therefore, guidelines for the dosing of antimicrobial recommendations in obese patients were drafted and are currently awaiting publication.