Missed an antibiotic dose - what to do?

Hwai-RayTung

University of Utah

"Missed an antibiotic dose - what to do?"

What should you do if you miss a dose of antibiotics? Despite the prevalence of missed antibiotic doses, there is vague or little guidance on what to do when a dose is forgotten. In this paper, we consider the effects of different patient responses after missing a dose using a mathematical model that links antibiotic concentration with bacteria dynamics. We show using simulations that, in some circumstances, (a) missing just a few doses can cause treatment failure, and (b) this failure can be remedied by simply taking a double dose after a missed dose. We then develop an approximate model that is analytically tractable and use it to understand when it might be advisable to take a double dose after a missed dose.
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