Hemodialysis removal of norfloxacin

The effect of hemodialysis on norfloxacin removal was evaluated in 7 patients. Single 800-mg doses of the drug were given to the subjects prior to dialysis using cuprophan hollow fiber dialyzers. Arterial and venous sample pairs were obtained at hourly intervals during treatment. Norfloxacin plasma concentrations were determined by HPLC. The mean hemodialysis clearance and extraction ratio were 38.84 +/- 10.92 ml/min and 0.19 +/- 0.06, respectively. Small differences in these parameters were observed between dialyzers with different surface areas (p > 0.05) and also between treatments using different blood flow rates (p > 0.05). Since a relatively small amount of norfloxacin is removed by hemodialysis, dosage adjustment is not necessary to compensate for the extracorporeal removal.