Antibacterial activity of cefuroxime in human bone

Bone samples were taken at orthopaedic surgery from 12 patients, who had been treated with 2 doses of 750 mg cefuroxime by intravenous infusion. After grinding, extraction and assay by the agar diffusion method the levels of cefuroxime ranged between 0.4--1.9 micrograms/g bone. Using an electrophoretic method followed by microbiological assay, higher levels of cefuroxime were measured, possibly because of a diminution in the binding capacity of the bone.