title: Penetration of amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate into the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with inflamed meninges.
abstract: A single intravenous dose of 2.0 g of amoxicillin and 0.2 g of potassium clavulanate was given to patients with bacterial meningitis, and the pharmacokinetics of both drugs in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma were evaluated. Twenty-one patients aged 14 to 76 years were studied. Both amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate were detectable in the CSF as early as 1 h and reached peak concentrations by approximately 2 h. The highest mean CSF concentrations were 2.25 micrograms/ml for amoxicillin and 0.25 micrograms/ml for potassium clavulanate and were found in patients with moderately or severely inflamed meninges. The CSF penetration relative to plasma for amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate was 5.8 and 8.4%, respectively. These levels suggest that the amoxicillin-potassium clavulanate combination may be effective for the treatment of bacterial meningitis caused by beta-lactamase-producing pathogens.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000658:Amoxicillin / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019818:Clavulanic Acid; D002969:Clavulanic Acids / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008581:Meningitis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D002969:Clavulanic Acids; D019818:Clavulanic Acid; D000658:Amoxicillin