The pharmacokinetics of cefotaxime and ceftriaxone in renal and hepatic dysfunction.

The pharmacokinetics of cefotaxime, its desacetyl metabolite and ceftriaxone were studied in 72 patients with various degrees of renal and hepatic failure. Patients with severe renal failure (creatinine clearance 3 to 10 ml/min) had a cefotaxime serum half-life of 2.6 h, a desacetyl cefotaxime serum half-life of 10 h and ceftriaxone serum half-life of 17 h. In the case of ceftriaxone, this serum half-life could be very variable--increasing to over 50 h, possibly due to co-existing hepatic dysfunction. Increases in serum half-life were found for cefotaxime in the presence of liver disease.