Renal Phospholipidosis in Rats after Gentamicin and Pefloxacin Coadministration at Low Doses

Abstract

Fluoroquinolones constitute a new class of highly active, wide spectrum antimicrobials (see Wolfson & Hooper, 1985; and Hooper & Wolfson, 1985 for review), among which pefloxacin is one of the first to have reached wide clinical usage. Since up to 60% of the administered dose of pefloxacin is eliminated through the kidney, it appears important to examine its potential nephrotoxicity. Moreover, pefloxacin can be administered in combination with an aminoglycoside in order to broaden the spectrum covered by the antiinfective therapy and/or to decrease the risk of emergence of bacterial resistance to either of these drugs (Pechere et al., 1987). Combination of other antibiotics with an aminoglycoside may increase (viz. vancomycin; Wood et al., 1986; Francq-Dufief et al., 1987), or decrease (viz. fosfomycin or piperacillin; Laurent et al., 1985; Carlier et al., 1987) aminoglycoside toxicity. In this connection, we have examined and report here on the influence of pefloxacin on the development of lysosomal phospholipidosis, an early, sensitive and predictive index of aminoglycoside-induced nephrotoxicity in animals and man (see Tulkens, 1986, for review).