Imani S, et al. - Via retrospectively reviewing consecutive patients treated with piperacillin or meropenem and who underwent therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) at St Vincent’s Hospital (Sydney, Australia) between January 2013 and December 2015, researchers investigated if target concentration non-attainment can be anticipated in critically ill patients prior to initiating empiric β-lactam antibiotic therapy based on readily available clinical factors. For non-continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) patients, multivariate analysis yielded the following factors to be associated with C_min ≤ minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC): male gender; younger age; prescribed daily antibiotic dose less than 1.5 times the product information recommendations; lack of positive microbiology; lower overall illness severity; and estimated glomerular filtration rate. They identified that using simple clinical factors, the risk of target concentration non-attainment could be evaluated at the bedside for non-CRRT patients prior to empiric antibiotic initiation. They recommend practicing caution while selecting doses based on the product information especially when treating younger male patients with apparently ‘normal’ renal function.