Introduction

Significant physiological changes in obese patients limit the generalisability of dosing information of antimicrobials to this increasingly prevalent group of patients. Individualised approaches to drug dosing in obese patients are warranted to address the significant changes in the pharmacokinetics of antimicrobials in this patient group. Nevertheless, differences in the chemical, physiological and clinical characteristics of antimicrobials limit the application of established pharmacokinetics principle in obese patients. Important considerations while designing an antimicrobial regimen include, but not limited to an understanding of the focus of infection, relative susceptibilities of the micro-organism involved, the best match of the body size descriptor for the antimicrobial in question and the renal function of the patients under treatment.