[Optimal regime of intravenous administration of lincomycin in osteomyelitis]

The pharmacokinetics of lincomycin in the blood of 8 patients with osteomyelitis was studied on the drug single and uninterrupted intravenous administration in therapeutic doses. It was found that when the antibiotic was administered continuously according to the routine scheme, its therapeutic blood levels were attained only 1.5 hours after the drug infusion. The optimal regimen of lincomycin uninterrupted infusion providing its constant rate in combination with the single intravenous administration was estimated with the help of the constants of the two-compartment model of lincomycin pharmacokinetics. According to the calculations the rate of the antibiotic administration necessary for providing therapeutic levels should be 2.2 mg/kg in complex with the loading dose equal to 5.4 mg/kg. Practical trials showed that intravenous administration of lincomycin with the above regimen remained within therapeutic range already 10 to 20 minutes after the beginning of the drug infusion. Therefore, from the pharmacokinetic point of view the recommended regimen for lincomycin infusion should be considered preferable to that used presently.