Abstract: Biapenem is a comparatively new kind of 1β-methyl carbapenem antibiotic, of which the specification of drug application in the elderly is not yet fully discovered. This review is designed to summarize drug metabolism in elderly population. Furthermore, we sum up pharmacokinetic characteristics, clinical efficacy and adverse reactions of biapenem in the elderly. Pharmacokinetic studies of biapenem in the elderly found that its prototype accumulation in the plasma drug concentration-versus-time curve, urinary excretion rate, and half-life of the drug had no significance difference as compared to young people. Only the total body clearance and renal clearance rate showed an age-related decline. For older patients with severe infections, based on the normal renal function with senility, dosage adjustment of biapenem is not essential. Biapenem is recommended to reduce dosage in elderly with severe renal failure (Creatinine clearance rate <21.1 mL/min).

Key words: biapenem, the elderly, pharmacokinetics, rational drug usage