Diffusion of cefpirome into the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with purulent meningitis.

We evaluated the diffusion of cefpirome into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 25 patients with bacterial meningitis or ventriculitis who were receiving conventional antibiotic treatment. A single cefpirome dose of 2 g was infused at day 2-3 after the onset of therapy. Concentrations of cefpirome in serum and CSF obtained at 2, 4, 8 or 12 h after the infusion were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The mean (+/- S.E.M.) concentrations of cefpirome in CSF ranged from 2.26 +/- 1.16 to 4.17 +/- 0.83 mg/L. These concentrations were higher than the MBCs for the pathogens usually responsible for bacterial meningitis.