Daily Medication Pearl: Meropenem IV

Medication Pearl of the Day: Meropenem IV

Indication: Meropenem IV is an antibacterial medication indicated for the treatment of complicated stomach and skin structure bacterial infections in adult and pediatric patients 3 months of age and older; complicated intra-abdominal infections in adult and pediatric patients; and bacterial meningitis in patients 3 months of age and older.

Insight:

• Dosing: 500 mg every 8 hours by intravenous infusion over 15 to 30 minutes for complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) for adult patients. When treating infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a dose of 1 gram every 8 hours is recommended.
• Dosage forms: 500 mg meropenem for injection vial (3) 1-gram meropenem for injection vial.
• Adverse events: Most common adverse reactions (2% or less) are headache, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, anemia, vomiting, and rash.
• Mechanism of action: Meropenem penetrates the cell wall of most gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria to reach penicillin-binding-protein (PBP) targets. Meropenem binds to PBPs 2, 3, and 4 of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa; and PBPs 1, 2, and 4 of Staphylococcus aureus. Bactericidal concentrations (defined as a 3 log10 reduction in cell counts within 12 hours to 24 hours) are typically 1-2 times the bacteriostatic concentrations of meropenem, with the exception of Listeria monocytogenes, against which lethal activity is not observed.

Source: Label: MERREM IV (meropenem for injection), (fda.gov)