Pharmacokinetics of cefotiam in the exudate from wounds of patients with breast cancer operated upon for radical mastectomy.

Cephalosporin antibiotics have been widely used to prevent infections during and after operation. To establish an efficient use of prophylactic antibiotics for patients undergoing surgery, it is important to investigate the drug levels in exudate from wounds of the patients and to elucidate the relation between drug concentration in the blood and that in the exudate. In a previous paper, the present authors (except E.M. and Y.K.) determined cefotiam (CTM) concentrations in serum and exudate from wounds of patients with breast cancer who underwent radical mastectomy and discussed an adequate regimen of CTM prophylaxis after the operation. However, CTM concentrations in serum and exudate from the wounds of the patients were not analyzed pharmacokinetically. In the present paper we report on the disposition kinetics of CTM in serum and exudate from wounds after the administration of CTM following bolus intravenous injection into patients with breast cancer operated upon for radical mastectomy.