Extracellular concentrations of fosfomycin in lung tissue of septic patients

Objectives The present investigation explored the ability of fosfomycin to penetrate lung tissue of septic patients by utilizing the microdialysis technique. Methods After microdialysis probe insertion into healthy and infected lung tissue, a single intravenous dose of 4 g of fosfomycin was administered. Results The mean Cmax, Tmax, AUC0–4 and AUC0–∞ for healthy lung were 131.6 ± 110.6 mg/L, 1.1 ± 0.4 h, 242.4 ± 101.6 mg·h/L and 367.6 ± 111.9 mg·h/L, respectively. The corresponding values for infected lung were 107.5 ± 60.2 mg/L, 1.4 ± 0.5 h, 203.5 ± 118.4 mg·h/L and 315.1 ± 151.2 mg·h/L. The half-life of fosfomycin ranged from 2.2 to 2.7 h between compartments. The magnitude of lung tissue penetration, as determined by the ratios of the AUC0–∞ for lung to the AUC0–∞ for plasma, was 0.63 ± 0.31 and 0.53 ± 0.31 for healthy and infected lung, respectively. Conclusions We conclude that fosfomycin achieves antimicrobially effective concentrations in infected lung tissue.