Studies on the clinical efficacy, serum levels and side effects of clindamycin phosphate administered intravenously.

Clindamycin phosphate was administered intravenously to 41 patients with different types of infections including osteomyelitis, septicaemia and soft tissue infections. All bacterial strains tested showed low MIC values for clindamycin. Maximum serum concentrations after 600 mg intravenously were 6.0--29.0 microgram/ml, after 300 mg intravenously 2.6--26.0 microgram/ml. The therapeutic effect of the drug was considered good in 26 of 31 patients with proven or probable bacterial aetiology. Side effects were noted in 16 of the 41 patients. However, in only 5 of these the treatment had to be terminated, all due to pruritic rashes. In the 7 cases with diarrhoea as side effect, the symptoms were mild and of short duration.