A pharmacological study of chloramphenicol in horses.

Pharmacological disposition of chloramphenicol was studied in horses. Minimum levels of the antibiotic (greater than or equal to 5 mu g/ml) in blood or plasma recommended to combat infections could not be achieved by 4.4 and 8.8 mg/kg I.V. or 30 and 50 mg/kg I.M. or 30 mg/kg oral (as palmitate salt) doses of chloramphenicol. Increasing the dose to 19.8 and 26.4 mg/kg I.V. provided such levels for about two and three hours respectively. A combination of 20 mg/kg I.V. and 30 mg/kg I.M. administered simultaneously did not provide more prolonged levels than 26.4 mg/kg I.V. alone. Chloramphenicol succinate produced higher but not more prolonged levels in blood and plasma than those produced by pure chloramphenicol. Succinate salt is very little, if at all, bound to red blood corpuscles. Plasma half life and the apparent volume of distribution of chloramphenicol in horses were determined as 0.98 hours and 0.92 L/kg, respectively. At 5-10 mu g/ml concentrations in equine plasma approximately 30 percent of the chloramphenicol is bound to plasma proteins. From these studies it is concluded that the biological half life of chloramphenicol may be too short for therapeutic application against systemic infections in horses.