Pharmacokinetics of cefpiramide in healthy volunteers, patients with various degrees of renal dysfunction, and patients on hemodialysis.

The elimination kinetics of cefpiramide, a parenteral semisynthetic cephalosporin derivative, were studied in 6 healthy volunteers and 31 patients with renal dysfunction after a single 500-mg intravenous injection. Cefpiramide concentrations in serum and urine were determined by an agar-well diffusion method. The serum levels in patients with renal impairment were slightly higher than those in volunteers during the period from 30 min to 24 h after the administration. The mean serum half-life during the beta-phase was 4.06 h in the volunteers and was slightly prolonged in the patients. The mean urinary recovery during 24 h amounted to 21.5% in the volunteers and decreased with reduced renal function. Hemodialysis did not enhance the clearance of cefpiramide.