Influence of haemodialysis on the pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin

Abstract

The elimination of ciprofloxacin from serum was studied in 16 patients (10 F, 6M, age 44–70 years) with end stage renal disease, treated with haemodialysis. The dosage of ciprofloxacin was 200 mg i.v. given by bolus injection (10 patients) or 250 mg orally (6 patients) on a day without and a day with dialysis (8 hours before dialysis was started). Samples were taken at regular intervals from the arteriovenous shunt and from venous peripheral blood. Concentrations of ciprofloxacin were measured by a biological assay. The mean peak serum levels after 200 mg i.v. were 3.5 mg/l measured 0.5 hour after the gift. After an oral dose of 250 mg the mean peak serum level measured one hour after the gift amounted to 1.5 mg/l. The serum half life was 8.5 h without dialysis and 5.5 h with dialysis. It was calculated from AUC values during dialysis that about 15% of the drug was eliminated by the artificial kidney.