Pharmacokinetic behavior of ciprofloxacin both in native cardiac and porcine valves treated in glutaraldehyde.

When judging a probable therapeutic success for antibiotic management of bioprosthetic endocarditis, sufficient drug levels in heterologous valve tissues play a very important role. The pharmacokinetic behavior of ciprofloxacin was investigated in native and porcine valvular tissues and compared with plasma levels during a 90- to 120-min period of surgery. Analysis was carried out by HPLC using excised valvular tissues (Hancock T 505). In all, 15-20 patients were investigated in each group. The antibiotics were administered intravenously or per os. Tissue concentrations after onset of the procedures showed ciprofloxacin plasma concentrations of 2.09-0.47 micrograms g in the native and 3.98-1.99 micrograms/g in the heterologous valvular tissues.