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. 1976 Sep;10(3):421–425. doi: 10.1128/aac.10.3.421

Comparative Pharmacokinetics of Cefamandole, Cephapirin, and Cephalothin in Healthy Subjects and Effect of Repeated Dosing

Michael Barza *, Srikumaran Melethil †,1, Stephen Berger †,2, E Chaim Ernst †,3
PMCID: PMC429764  PMID: 984783

Abstract

Cefamandole nafate, cephapirin, and cephalothin were administered intravenously in crossover fashion to 12 volunteers, in dosages of 2 g every 6 h for 16 doses. Mean peak levels of cefamandole were approximately 50% higher than those of the other agents. The serum concentration curves appeared to decline bi-exponentially, suggesting that a two-compartment model was most applicable for pharmacokinetic analysis; accordingly, the t½ of cefamandole was significantly longer when the serum peak was omitted from the analysis (0.86 versus 0.73 h, P < 0.05). The half-lives of cephalothin and cephapirin, 0.34 and 0.36 h, respectively, were probably underestimates reflecting the inclusion of distribution-phase values in the calculation. Repeated dosing had no effect on the peak serum levels, half-life, serum clearance, or apparent volume of distribution with one exception: peak serum levels of cephapirin were significantly lower after the sixteenth than after the first dose. Marked variations within a given subject were noted in the half-life and apparent volume of distribution of cefamandole in several instances. Renal clearances of cefamandole exhibited saturation kinetics similar to those of penicillin G.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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