A therapeutic regimen is a planned course of treatment designed to achieve a defined clinical objective. It includes all therapeutic interventions prescribed to a patient, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures, as well as the timing, dose, route of administration, frequency, duration, and treatment monitoring. Depending on the condition being managed, a therapeutic regimen may include medicines, surgery, rehabilitation, dietary modifications, behavioural interventions or other supportive therapies.
In antimicrobial research and clinical practice, the more specific term treatment regimen is generally preferred. A treatment regimen refers to the defined combination of antimicrobial agent(s), dose, route, frequency and duration used to treat an infection, and is typically specified in clinical guidelines, product labels and clinical trial protocols. While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, therapeutic regimen is broader, whereas treatment regimen more precisely describes the antimicrobial treatment strategy evaluated or prescribed for a particular infection.