Pharmacokinetics of ceftazidime in patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites

The pharmacokinetics of ceftazidime were studied in 18 male individuals, including six healthy volunteers and 12 patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites. Each participant received 1 g of ceftazidime as a single intravenous bolus injection. The elimination half-life was longer in cirrhotic than in control patients (5.40 +/- 1.02 h) vs. (1.98 +/- 0.24 h), P less than 0.01; probably due to slow return from the ascitic compartment. Nevertheless, total body clearance did not differ significantly between the two groups (81.4 +/- 30.3 ml/h/kg vs. 83.6 +/- 24.9 ml/h/kg). Dose reduction is not necessary when treating systemic infection in cirrhotics. Ceftazidime attained a concentration of 1 microgram/ml in the ascitic fluid in most patients 15 to 30 min after the injection, and maintained this level, which is higher than the MIC90 of Enterobacteriaceae, for 24 h. An intravenous bolus injection of 1 g ceftazidime every 24 h is sufficient to treat patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis caused by a susceptible organism other than Pseudomonas aeruginosa.