Pharmacokinetics of gentamicin in the juvenile dog

The pharmacokinetics of gentamicin and/or creatinine clearances were investigated in eleven 5-month-old Beagles. A 2-compartment open model was used to describe the drug's disposition, as judged by error sums of squares and residual plot analyses. Half-life (elimination phase) was 60.9 +/- 7.8 minutes (mean +/- SD), the volume of distribution calculated from the area under the curve was 35.4 +/- 3.6 L/100 kg of body weight, and the clearance of the drug from the body was 4.08 +/- 0.62 ml/min/kg of body weight. The 24-hour creatinine renal clearance in these dogs was 3.82 +/- 0.92 ml/min/kg, consistent with gentamicin being eliminated mainly by glomerular filtration. Other pharmacokinetic values were also determined.