Ceftriaxone levels in blood and tissue during cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

One gram of ceftriaxone was given intravenously to 15 patients approximately 2 h before cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. Ceftriaxone levels in plasma (mean +/- standard deviation) were 60.4 +/- 18.8 micrograms/ml (range, 17.0 to 96.0 micrograms/ml) at the beginning of bypass, 44.2 +/- 16.6 micrograms/ml (range, 9.4 to 78.6 micrograms/ml) at the end of bypass, and 19.6 +/- 9.6 micrograms/ml (range, 4.2 to 47.1 micrograms/ml) the following morning, 18.1 to 24.7 h after infusion of ceftriaxone. Concentrations in the sternal bone were 4.7 +/- 2.1 micrograms/g (range, 1.0 to 10.1 micrograms/g; tissue-to-plasma ratios, 0.066 +/- 0.036). Concentrations in the atrial appendage were 7.7 +/- 1.8 microgram/g (range, 3.6 to 10.2 micrograms/g; tissue-to-plasma ratios, 0.143 +/- 0.062). These data suggest that a single dose of ceftriaxone might be useful for prevention of infection due to susceptible pathogens.