The penetration of cefmenoxime into cerebrospinal fluid across non-inflamed meninges.

The penetration of cefmenoxime, a newly-developed cephalosporin, across non-inflamed meninges was studied in 12 volunteers undergoing elective myelograms. Patients received 30 mg/kg of cefmenoxime intravenously every 6 h for three doses. Trough and peak serum levels were drawn just prior to and immediately after the last dose. CSF was obtained from 1 to 4 h after the administration of the last dose and a concomitant serum sample was also drawn. Cefmenoxime levels were determined by a microbiological assay and by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Cefmenoxime was detected in the CSF of all 12 patients and ranged between 0.15 and 1.4 mg/l.