Pharmacokinetics of amikacin during continuous veno-venous hemofiltration

We studied the pharmacokinetics of amikacin in a patient with acute oliguric renal failure during continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH). The volume of distribution, terminal disposition rate constant and elimination half-life for amikacin were 27.9 L, 0.023.h-1 and 29.7 h, respectively. Total body clearance for amikacin was 10.54 ml/min and CVVH clearance was 10.11 ml/min. Sieving coefficient for amikacin was 0.93 +/- 0.16. Our data show that during CVVH at a filtration rate of 10 ml/min, the clearance of amikacin is similar to that reported in patients with renal failure who are not being treated with CVVH.