Discussion
Variation in protein binding of antimicrobials, including piperacillin, is well documented [18]. Despite being a moderately-bound drug, as a beta-lactam, piperacillin unbound concentration can fluctuate in cases of hypoalbuminemia, therefore affecting the distribution and the excretion of renally eliminated drugs [4, 18]. This is turn may affect the probability of target attainment in critically ill patients.
The present analysis revealed that unbound fraction variations did not significantly affect piperacillin total CL, and simulated concentration-time profiles showed no impact on target attainment, as all concentrations after 24 h (C24h) were above the PK/PD target of 1xMIC of 16 mg/L. However, the profile of the subject with augmented renal clearance (ARC) (subject 4) had a rather low C24h. ARC is becoming more prevalent in ICU and is known to cause lower serum concentrations of drugs that are primarily eliminated by the kidneys, such as piperacillin [9, 19, 20]. Despite successfully achieving a target of 1xMIC, our simulations indicate that patients with ARC may not be able to reliably reach targets of 4xMIC in cases of empirical treatment, which is often the case for piperacillin. This target is commonly used in ICU patients in order to prevent the growth of resistant pathogens [21, 22]. Therefore, while no dosing adjustments seemed necessary in our analysis, it may be in cases where clinicians require the achievement of a more aggressive target of 4xMIC.
While we investigated the impact of unbound fraction fluctuations on a clinical level, we also evaluated the repercussions it could have on the validity of a popPK model. Indeed, after applying various unbound fractions, the model remained valid for values ranging from 65% to 85%. These values are what are mainly reported in studies that determined the unbound fraction of piperacillin in critically ill patients [3, 4, 23]. However, these same studies have also reported values going as high as 95%. Had we used a value of 95% for example, this model would not have been suitable for the external dataset. This indicates that it is important to know the unbound fraction of the population before using a popPK model developed from unbound concentrations of piperacillin. In our case, it is possible that the external dataset had a higher unbound fraction than the value of 70%, indicating that the model may not be suitable at all for this population. This shows the precautions we must take in using theoretical factors in every analysis we perform. Nonetheless, this value offered the best combination in terms of bias and imprecision.
This study has some limitations. Firstly, this study is limited with simulated concentrations. Indeed, only total concentrations were obtained from the external validation dataset, with no knowledge of the real unbound fraction for each subject. Additionally, simulations were performed using a popPK model that only included CLCr as a covariate on CL, not unbound fraction, and CLCr may not fully portray piperacillin’s total renal CL, as piperacillin is also eliminated by tubular secretion. To the best of our knowledge, no model currently available in the literature integrated unbound fraction, albumin levels or markers of tubular secretion as covariates on piperacillin CL, making it difficult to adequately evaluate their impact., possibly due to the rarity of such information for clinicians, especially for markers of tubular secretion, as they may not be routinely available in ICU wards.
The present study has shown through simulations that adjustments to piperacillin dosing regimens may not be required in cases of hypoalbuminemia. As a moderately-bound molecule, altered binding may have little impact on piperacillin’s PK profile. Thus, despite unbound concentration being the main parameter for target attainment, working with total concentration may suffice for therapeutic drug monitoring of piperacillin. However, considering the real unbound fraction of the dataset is necessary in the case of model evaluation, as the evaluation may be skewed if binding levels were to be assumed in the population. Indeed, it seems it would be best to only evaluate models that used unbound concentrations with external datasets that have real unbound concentrations data available. A clear answer is, however, difficult to give in the case of a molecule such as piperacillin, as opposed to highly bound molecules in the likes of ceftriaxone or ertapenem. Nonetheless, our simulated scenarios offer some insight regarding the possible impact of unbound fraction variability in critically ill patients in hopes of further evaluating this with real clinical studies. Studies with real unbound piperacillin concentrations and unbound fraction values would be warranted before reaching a conclusion.