Concentration of cephalexin in maxillary sinus mucosa and secretion

Twenty patients hospitalized for unilateral or bilateral sinus surgery were given 500 mg or 15 mg/kg body weight of cephalexin by mouth two hours before operation. Samples of serum, sinus mucosa and secretion for cephalexin concentrations were taken during operation. There was a large variation in the mucosal and secretion concentrations and no definite correlation with serum levels. Drug levels effective against most gram-positive cocci were usually found in the mucosa. The mucosal concentrations were much larger than those in the secretion. There were no noteworthy differences between the patients with purulent infection and those in whom the infection was quiescent.