Gentamicin and renal function: lessons from 15 years' experience of a pharmacokinetic service for extended interval dosing of gentamicin.

Background: Extended interval dosing (EID) of gentamicin most commonly involves dosing every 24 hours, but patients with impaired renal function may require a longer dose interval. This study examines a large database of patients treated with gentamicin from 1996 to 2010 to see how many patients with renal impairment would have benefited from dose intervals >24 hours and to define the incidence of nephrotoxicity.

Methods: All patients aged ≥ 16 years who had received gentamicin by EID over the 14-year period and had concentration data available were examined.