Concentration of teicoplanin in the serum of adults with end stage chronic renal failure undergoing treatment for infection.

We examined the adequacy of the following schedule for the administration of i.v. teicoplanin to patients with chronic renal failure: three doses of 6 mg/kg at 12 h intervals, a fourth dose 24 h later and then subsequent doses every 72 h. Eight infected patients undergoing dialysis were investigated, with serum antibiotic concentrations measured ten minutes before and one hour after administration. Mean trough concentrations were 6.9 +/- 3.1 mg/L on day two, 9.8 +/- 4.4 mg/L (day three), 9.2 +/- 4.8 mg/L (day six), 10.9 +/- 5.5 mg/L (day nine), 12.1 +/- 6.1 mg/L (day 12) and 14.8 +/- 8.0 mg/L (day 15). The proposed schedule achieved adequate trough serum teicoplanin concentrations by 48 h in six out of eight patients examined. The dosage regimen was well tolerated.