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. 1986 Sep;30(3):481–484. doi: 10.1128/aac.30.3.481

Penetration of amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate into the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with inflamed meninges.

J S Bakken, J N Bruun, P Gaustad, T C Tasker
PMCID: PMC180584  PMID: 3777911

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.

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Selected References

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