Relevance of animal models for clinical treatment.

The use of animal models has become an integral part of the evaluation of drugs for antimicrobial chemotherapy. Animal models can be used to define the penetration of antimicrobial agents at foci of infections, the time course of in vivo antimicrobial therapy, dose-response relationships, and the influence of therapy on the pathophysiologic consequences of infection. Animal models have been useful in the delineation of many of the basic principles currently used in clinical practice and in the selection of new agents and new therapeutic approaches for clinical trials in humans. In spite of the many positive aspects of animal models, several problems, such as altered pharmacokinetics in animals, can preclude direct application of results to clinical practice. Studies in animal models cannot replace the need for human clinical trials.