Evaluation of initial and steady-state gatifloxacin pharmacokinetics and dose in pulmonary tuberculosis patients by using monte carlo simulations.

A 4-month regimen of gatifloxacin with rifampin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide is being evaluated for the treatment of tuberculosis in a phase 3 randomized controlled trial (OFLOTUB). A prior single-dose study found that gatifloxacin exposure increased by 14% in the combination. The aims of the study are to evaluate the initial and steady-state pharmacokinetics of gatifloxacin when daily doses are given to patients with newly diagnosed drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis as part of a combination regimen and to evaluate the gatifloxacin dose with respect to the probability of attaining a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic target. We describe the population pharmacokinetics of gatifloxacin from the first dose to a median of 28 days in 169 adults enrolled in the OFLOTUB trial in Benin, Guinea, Senegal, and South Africa. The probability of achieving a ratio of ≥125 for the area under the concentration time curve to infinity (AUC0-∞) for the free fraction of gatifloxacin over the MIC (fAUC/MIC) was investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. The median AUC0-∞ of 41.2 μg · h/ml decreased on average by 14.3% (90% confidence interval [CI], -90.5% to +61.5%) following multiple 400-mg daily doses. At steady state, 90% of patients achieved an fAUC/MIC of ≥125 only when the MIC was <0.125 μg/ml. We conclude that systemic exposure to gatifloxacin declines with repeated daily 400-mg doses when used together with rifampin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide, thus compensating for any initial increase in gatifloxacin levels due to a drug interaction. (The OFLOTUB study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT00216385.).