ANTIMICROBIAL CHEMOTHERAPY - NEW CONSIDER ATIONS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS TO VETERINARY-MEDICINE

Relations between pharmacokinetics, antimicrobial activity, and distri bution and maintenance should be studied in order to specify most effe ctive posology schemes. Some antimicrobials are concentration-dependen t : their bactericidal speed increases with concentration. Others are time-dependent : their bactericidal activity reaches its maximum level when MIC is obtained, and is then directly related to exposure time. The post-antibiotic effect depends on the antimicrobial and the pathog en considered, and can be measured in experimental models. Practical c onsequences for antimicrobial prescribing are currently discussed, esp ecially for bactericidal antimicrobials and taking into account toxici ty and clinical data.