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 C max , T max , AUC 0―4 and AUC 0―∞ 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 AUC 0―∞ for lung to the AUC 0―∞ 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.