[Delayed elimination of aminoglycoside antibiotics: importance for clinical use]

In 7 patients the elimination of amikacin (4), tobramycin (1) and gentamicin (2) in serum and urine was measured over several days after cessation of therapy. All three aminoglycosides showed multicompartmental pharmacokinetics with a terminal half life ranging between 46 and 150 hours. Using computer simulations, it is shown that slow drug accumulation in the body is to be expected during multiple dose therapy. Therefore, the indiscriminate use of these drugs should be avoided and the duration of therapy kept as short as possible.