Two doctors said in The Lancet Viewpoint, although drug treatments are tailored for individual patients, most dosing regimens, do not take patient's body size into consideration.
They argued that with increasing level of obesity worldwide, the standard dose of antibiotics for all adults is outdated because it may not be strong enough to clear the infection in taller and larger adults and resistance may be developed. Likewise, smaller patients may get too much drug, and suffer greater side-effects as a result.
They said that a patient's bodyweight should be taken into account when calculating their dose of antibiotics to achieve effectivenesss and safety.
Critics say that this review is based on authors' views and experience and is a valuable discussion. Changes to current prescribing would be costly and complicated, therfore further research and follow-up of previous study data would be needed.
Source:
"Adjustment of dosing of antimicrobial agents for bodyweight in adults". The Lancet, 375(9710):248-251
Editorial: "Prescribing medicines: size matters". The Lancet 2010; 375(9710): 172
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