The pharmacokinetics of cefepime in goats following single-dose i.v. and i.m. administration

Abstract

The pharmacokinetics of cefepime was studied in 5 goats following i.v. and i.m. administration of 10 mg/kg of body weight. Following i.v. administration, the cefepime plasma concentration-time curves were best fitted in a onecompartment open model. The elimination half-life (t1/2β), area under curve (AUC0→∞), and total body clearance (ClB) were 1.86 ± 0.54 h, 181.58 ± 80.52 μg.h/mL, and 1.10 ± 0.54 mL/min/kg, respectively. Following i.m. administration, pharmacokinetic parameters were analyzed using statistical moment theory (SMT). The drug was absorbed rapidly, with an absorption half-life (t1/2abs) of 0.77 ± 0.34 h. The peak plasma concentration (Cmax) of 49.32 ± 10.33 μg/mL was attained after (Tmax) 0.80 ± 0.11 h, with an elimination half-life (t1/2β) of 1.65 ± 0.38 h. The systemic bioavailability (F) of cefepime in the goats after i.m. administration was 86.45 ± 17.39% and in vitro plasma protein binding was 7.45 ± 4.46%. The dosage regime was estimated via the PK-PD relationship, considering the t>MIC value. The results suggest that cefepime was a potential bactericidal agent for more than 7 h by both administration routes, and that it might be very useful in the treatment of various infections in goats at 10 mg/kg of body weight administered i.v. or i.m. with 10 h as the dosage interval. © Tübi̇tak.