Pharmacokinetics of azithromycin and concentration in body fluids and bronchoalveolar cells in foals

Abstract

Objective—To determine the pharmacokinetics of azithromycin and its concentration in body fluids and bronchoalveolar lavage cells in foals. Animals—6 healthy 6- to 10-week-old foals. Procedure—Azithromycin (10 mg/kg of body weight) was administered to each foal via IV and intragastric (IG) routes in a crossover design. After the first IG dose, 4 additional IG doses were administered at 24-hour intervals. A microbiologic assay was used to measure azithromycin concentrations in serum, peritoneal fluid, synovial fluid, pulmonary epithelial lining fluid (PELF), and bronchoalveolar (BAL) cells. Results—Azithromycin elimination half-life was 20.3 hours, body clearance was 10.4 ml/min·kg, and apparent volume of distribution at steady state was 18.6 L/kg. After IG administration, time to peak serum concentration was 1.8 hours and bioavailability was 56%. After repeated IG administration, peak serum concentration was 0.63 ± 0.10 µg/ml. Peritoneal and synovial fluid concentrations were similar to serum concentratio...