Steady-State Plasma and Intrapulmonary Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Cethromycin

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to determine the steady-state plasma and intrapulmonary pharmacokinetic parameters of orally administered cethromycin in healthy volunteers. The study design included administering 150 or 300 mg of cethromycin once daily to 25 or 35 healthy adult subjects, respectively, for a total of five doses. Standardized and timed bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed after the last dose. Blood was obtained for drug assay prior to the first and last dose, at multiple time points following the last dose, and at the time of BAL. Cethromycin was measured in plasma, BAL, and alveolar cell (AC) by using a combined high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric technique. Plasma, epithelial lining fluid (ELF), and AC pharmacokinetics were derived by noncompartmental methods. C max /90% minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC 90 ) ratios, area under the concentration-time curve (AUC)/MIC 90 ratios, intrapulmonary drug exposure ratios, and percent time above MIC 90 during the dosing interval (% T > MIC 90 ) were calculated for recently reported respiratory pathogens. The kinetics were nonlinear, i.e., not proportional to dose. In the 150-mg-dose group, the C max (mean ± standard deviations), AUC 0-24 , and half-life for plasma were 0.181 ± 0.084 μg/ml, 0.902 ± 0.469 μg · h/ml, and 4.85 ± 1.10 h, respectively; for ELF the values were 0.9 ± 0.2 μg/ml, 11.4 μg · h/ml, and 6.43 h, respectively; for AC the values were 12.7 ± 6.4 μg/ml, 160.8 μg · h/ml, and 10.0 h, respectively. In the 300-mg-dose group, the C max (mean ± standard deviations), AUC 0-24 , and half-life for plasma were 0.500 ± 0.168 μg/ml, 3.067 ± 1.205 μg · h/ml, and 4.94 ± 0.66 h, respectively; for ELF the values were 2.7 ± 2.0 μg/ml, 24.15 μg · h/ml, and 5.26 h, respectively; for AC the values were 55.4 ± 38.7 μg/ml, 636.2 μg · h/ml, and 11.6 h, respectively. We concluded that the C max /MIC 90 ratios, AUC/MIC 90 ratios, % T > MIC 90 values, and extended plasma and intrapulmonary half-lives provide a pharmacokinetic rationale for once-daily administration and are favorable for the treatment of cethromycin-susceptible pulmonary infections.