Influence of haemodialysis on the pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin.

The elimination of ciprofloxacin from serum was studied in 16 patients (10 F, 6M, age 44-70 years) with end stage renal disease, treated with haemodialysis. The dosage of ciprofloxacin was 200 mg i.v. given by bolus injection (10 patients) or 250 mg orally (6 patients) on a day without and a day with dialysis (8 hours before dialysis was started). Samples were taken at regular intervals from the arteriovenous shunt and from venous peripheral blood. Concentrations of ciprofloxacin were measured by a biological assay. The mean peak serum levels after 200 mg i.v. were 3.5 mg/l measured 0.5 hour after the gift. After an oral dose of 250 mg the mean peak serum level measured one hour after the gift amounted to 1.5 mg/l. The serum half life was 8.5 h without dialysis and 5.5 h with dialysis. It was calculated from AUC values during dialysis that about 15% of the drug was eliminated by the artificial kidney.