Determination of pefloxacin concentration in mesenteric lymph nodes by high-performance chromatography

Ten patients who had undergone laparotomies for different abdominal pathological conditions were studied to determine the levels of pefloxacin in mesenteric lymph nodes. Each patient was given 400 mg of oral pefloxacin every 12 h for the 3 days prior to surgery. Drug levels in tissue were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography (reverse phase); the mean +/- standard deviation was 17.1 +/- 11.9 micrograms/g, with a range of 2.12 to 36.6 micrograms/g. This indicates an adequate pefloxacin concentration in lymph nodes and makes the drug a good option for the treatment of conditions in which lymph nodes act as an infection-promoting and/or relapse-favoring factor.