title: Accumulation of pefloxacin in the lower respiratory tract demonstrated by bronchoalveolar lavage.
abstract: The in-vivo pulmonary disposition of pefloxacin in alveolar macrophages alveolar macrophages and in the alveolar epithelial lining fluid recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage was studied in 10 healthy volunteers. Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed either 2 or 4 h after oral intake of 800 mg of the drug. The recovered fluid was immediately centrifuged and processed for the assays. Pefloxacin was assayed by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and by a microbiological method. The mean concentrations of pefloxacin assayed by HPLC were 106 +/- 11.1 mg/L in alveolar macrophages and 88.2 +/- 10 mg/L in the epithelial lining fluid, whereas the mean serum concentration was 6.67 +/- 0.47 mg/L. Therefore, pefloxacin accumulated rapidly in human alveolar macrophages. The high epithelial lining fluid concentrations may be attributed to lipophilicity of the drug and to rapid diffusion from blood, pulmonary cells and interstitium during the bronchoalveolar lavage procedure. The substantial accumulation of pefloxacin in alveolar components (alveolar macrophages and epithelial lining fluid) endorses its use in the treatment of intracellular bacterial infections such as legionellosis; for these diseases, pefloxacin represents an alternative to the macrolide antibiotics.
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de Lyon, Laboratoire Micro-Analyse et Nutrition, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Panteix
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Harf
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Desnottes
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gosselet
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leclercq
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Diallo
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Couprie
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Desbos
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perrin Fayolle
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ballereau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000187:drug effects; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007877:Legionnaires' Disease / Q000382:microbiology; D016676:Macrophages, Alveolar / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D015366:Pefloxacin / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000378:metabolism; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015366:Pefloxacin