Tissue persistence of gentamicin in man.

A two-compartment pharmcokinetic model was used to caracterize serum concentrations and to predict tissue accumulation of gentamicin in 47 treated patients. Postmortem tissues were obtained in six cases; in each instance, tissues yielded the predicted amount of drug. Slow release of tissue-bound gentamicin accounts for its prolonged retention in the body. The two-compartment model adequately predicts gentamicin accumulation from serum concentrations and explains why this antibiotic persists in serum and urine.