Penetration of parenterally administered rifampicin into bone tissue

This study in 32 patients was undertaken to determine the penetration of rifampicin into bone tissue using the recently developed intravenous formulation of this antibiotic. 300 mg rifampicin given as an intravenous injection over 5 min followed by 300 mg slow intravenous drip infusion over 1 h give a plasma level of rifampicin of more than 2 micrograms/ml for 6 h. In patients with osteomyelitis, bone rifampicin concentrations ranged from 1.4 to 8.8 micrograms/g at 2.5-3.5 h after the start of treatment. Osteomyelitis due to gram-positive organisms and to Haemophilus can be treated with rifampicin in combination with a second antibiotic, depending on the minimum inhibitory concentration of the infecting organism(s).