Concentration of meropenem in serum and in bronchial secretions in patients undergoing fibreoptic bronchoscopy.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the ability of meropenem to reach the bronchial lumen. 24 patients undergoing fibreoptic bronchoscopy for exploratory purposes were given a single dose of meropenem 1 g as an (i.v., infusion over 30 min. Plasma (P) sampling times were: 0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 h. Bronchial secretions (BS) were collected by fibreoptic bronchoscopy at the same sampling times (except for 0 and 0.5 h) in three groups of 8 patients. Meropenem was measured by bioassay using E. coli ATCC 39118 as the test-organism. The results showed that meropenem had reached a high plasma concentration at the first sampling time (59.8 mg.l-1) and then the plasma level decreased rapidly to 10.6 mg.l-1 and 2.7 mg.l-1 at 2 and 3 h respectively. The highest concentration achieved in bronchial secretion was 0.53 mg.l-1 in the third hour, ie 20% of the serum level. The data indicate significant penetration of meropenem into bronchial secretions and achievement of a local level sufficiently high to eradicate most respiratory pathogens.