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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy logoLink to Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
. 1996 May;40(5):1104–1107. doi: 10.1128/aac.40.5.1104

Concentrations of doxycycline and penicillin G in sera and cerebrospinal fluid of patients treated for neuroborreliosis.

M Karlsson 1, S Hammers 1, I Nilsson-Ehle 1, A S Malmborg 1, B Wretlind 1
PMCID: PMC163273  PMID: 8723448

Abstract

Concentrations of doxycycline and penicillin G in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were analyzed in 46 patients during treatment for neuroborreliosis. Twenty patients were treated intravenously with penicillin G at 3 g every 6 h (q6h), and 26 patients were treated orally with doxycycline at 200 mg q24h. All samples were collected on day 13 of treatment. The median concentrations of penicillin G in serum were 0.5, 37, and 5.6 micrograms/ml before and 1 and 3 h after drug administration, and that in CSF was 0.5 (range, 0.3 to 1.6) microgram/ml after 2 to 3 h. The median concentrations of doxycycline in serum were 2.1, 6.1, and 4.7 micrograms/ml before and 2 and 6 h after drug administration, and that in CSF was 0.6 (range, 0.4 to 2.5) microgram/ml after 4 h. All patients had concentrations of penicillin G or doxycycline in CSF above the lowest reported MICs of penicillin G (0.003 microgram/ml) and doxycycline (0.12 microgram/ml) for Borrelia burgdorferi. However, no patients had a drug concentration in CSF above the highest reported MIC of penicillin G (8 micrograms/ml), and only one had a drug concentration in CSF above the highest reported MIC of doxycycline (2 micrograms/ml), despite good clinical response to treatment. No treatment failure or relapse was observed during a 1-year follow-up, although one patient treated with penicillin G and one treated with doxycycline were retreated because of residual pain. The chosen dosages of penicillin G and doxycycline seem to give sufficient concentrations in serum and CSF for the treatment of neuroborreliosis.

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Selected References

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