We report the results obtained in a comparative study on the extravascular passage of cefotaxime, employing three different methods: suction skin blister, skin window, and skin chamber. Applying the skin blister method in two different ways, we also studied the influence that suction pressure and time lapse between blister formation and antibiotic injection had on the results obtained in order to standardize the method and establish repeatability of the results. Using the skin chamber method, we studied the influence that the different protein contents in the fluid used to fill the skin chamber had on extravascular concentrations.The study of interstitial extravascular passage of antibiotics in humans is an interesting problem which presents considerable limitations because of the lack of material available on dosage systems for the antibiotics. In fact, it is almost impossible to obtain sufficient quantities of the interstitial fluid to make such determining possible.Studies on the extravascular passage of antibiotics in humans have been made, using the skin window (7) and skin chamber methods (10) and more recently, the skin blister method (8).From the published results of studies on this subject, the great diversity of interstitial concentrations of the same antibiotic and the kinetic difference in relation to the methods being used are evident. We found, furthermore, that this difference may be related to diverse characteristics, mainly the different protein contents of the exudates obtained by different methods (R. F. Frongillo, Relazione XX Congresso Nazionale Societa Italiana Malattie Infettive e Parass., in press). It is, therefore, clear that none of the applied methods can produce liquids comparable to the interstitial fluid, since they are, for the most part, exudates or only apparent transudates.The first problem, therefore, is to establish a method which can be standardized easily and which by assuring reproducible results makes feasible a comparative study of the influence of various factors on the extravascular passage of the antibiotics.In recent in vivo and in vitro experiments, using the new cephalosporin cefotaxime, we studied the extravascular concentrations of this antibiotic and compared the results obtained by application of the skin window and skin chamber 22 methods with those obtained by using a suction skin blister method (6).
MATERIALS AND METHODSSubjects. Patients 18 to 69 years of age (average age, 56), weighing 42 to 70 kg (average weight, 58 kg), were studied in the Infectious Diseases Institute of the University of Perugia, Italy.No clinical or biochemical alterations in kidney and liver functions were found on examining the patients, who had given their consent for the experiment.Cefotaxime. Cefotaxime (HR 756; Hoechst A. G., Frankfurt, Germany), in 1-g vials diluted in 1% lidocaine for intramuscular injection, was used. Blood and extravascular fluid samples were taken 30 min and 1, 2, and 4 h after the injection.Filter paper disks used in the skin window method were applied imm...