Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of intravenous and oral fleroxacin in subjects with normal and impaired renal function and in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

The pharmacokinetics of fleroxacin, including the formation of N-demethyl and N-oxide fleroxacin after the administration of single intravenous (100-mg) and oral (400-mg) doses, was investigated in 26 subjects with various levels of renal function, including 7 patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Fleroxacin was well tolerated by all subjects. The volume of distribution, systemic availability, and peak concentration after the administration of oral fleroxacin were independent of the glomerular filtration rate. As a consequence of a declining renal clearance but not nonrenal clearance, the total body clearance of fleroxacin declined with decreasing glomerular filtration rate from 1.41 +/- 0.23 ml/min per kg in subjects with normal renal function to 0.58 +/- 0.13 ml/min per kg in patients with end-stage renal disease (r = 0.84, P less than 0.001). The analysis revealed that the N-oxide metabolite exhibited formation-limited kinetics and the N-demethyl metabolite exhibited elimination-limited kinetics. The areas under the curve of both metabolites increased with declining renal function. In patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis the mean dialysate/plasma concentration ratio of fleroxacin increased from 0.52 +/- 0.11 to 0.71 +/- 0.13 (P less than 0.001) with increasing dwell time, resulting in a 7.8 +/- 3.6% recovery of unchanged fleroxacin in peritoneal dialysate. In conclusion, (i) a 50% reduction of the maintenance dose is recommended in patients with a renal function below 20 to 30 ml/min per 1.73 m2, and (ii) therapeutic concentrations of fleroxacin in the peritoneal dialysate should be achievable after oral administration in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.