Influence of the route of administration on the pharmacokinetics of amikacin.

The pharmacokinetics of amikacin was studied in 17 hospitalized patients with normal renal function (creatinine clearance greater than 90 ml/min), after the administration of a single dose of 7.5 mg/kg body weight. In 10 patients the antibiotic was administered intravenously and in the other 7 it was injected intramuscularly. After i.v. administration, the antibiotic followed an open two-compartment kinetic model, and after i.m. administration it followed a single compartment kinetic model. The route of administration did not significantly modify the pharmacokinetic parameters of amikacin. On the basis of the pharmacokinetic parameters thus established, an intravenous infusion for therapeutic use should have an administration rate of 2.5 [mg/kg/h] and a duration of 6 h.