[Pulmonary and bronchial kinetics of cefuroxime after a single 500 mg intramuscular injection]

Thirty-two patients (28 males; mean age 56 +/- 10 years) who were undergoing bronchopulmonary exeresis surgery were included in this study of the pulmonary (pulm), bronchial (br), and plasma (pl) kinetics of cefuroxime after a single 500 mg intramuscular injection. Twenty-nine bronchial specimens and 38 pulmonary and plasma specimens were taken on average at the following times after the cefuroxime injection: 1 h, 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h, and 10 h. Cefuroxime was assayed using HPLC on ground tissues, with a correction for contamination by blood. Peak concentrations (C) were found after one hour (Cpl = 11.6 +/- 0.8 micrograms/ml; Cpulm = 7.3 +/- 3.3 micrograms/g; Cbr = 3.7 +/- 1.5 micrograms/g) with the following residual values after 8 hours: Cpl = 0.94 +/- 1.04 micrograms/ml, Cpulm = 0.49 +/- 0.45 micrograms/g, Cbr = 0.15 +/- 0.07 micrograms/g (means +/- 1 SD). Elimination kinetics were monoexponential and similar in plasma, lung tissue and bronchial tissue (elimination half-lives: 1.74 h, 1.66 h, and 1.56 h, respectively), suggesting that all three elements belong to the same pharmacokinetic compartment. Mean intrapolated area-under-the-curve values (AUC) were 33.58 micrograms.ml-1.h (plasma), 20.08 micrograms.g-1.h (lung), and 10.22 micrograms/g-1.h (bronchus). The AUCpulm/AUCpl and AUCbr/AUCpl ratios were 0.60 and 0.30, respectively, in agreement with mean values of tissue level/simultaneous plasma level ratios (lung: 0.59; bronchus: 0.33).