Clinical pharmacokinetics and tolerance of fleroxacin in healthy male volunteers

The tolerance and pharmacokinetics of fleroxacin were studied in healthy male adult volunteers. The peak serum concentrations of unchanged fleroxacin were about 1.5, 3 and 5 mg/l at 1-2 h after single oral doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg, respectively. The apparent serum elimination half-life was about 10 h, independent of the dose. Fleroxacin, demethyl fleroxacin and fleroxacin N-oxide excreted in urine over 3 days accounted for about 75%, 5% and 5%, respectively, of the doses. The urine concentrations of unchanged drug were dose-related; the mean concentrations, sustained over 24 h, were about 50, 100 and 150 mg/l after 100, 200 and 400 mg doses, respectively. Food intake did not significantly influence the serum concentration and urinary excretion. Steady state serum concentrations were achieved from day 3 onwards by repeated doses of twice-a-day dosage regimen and were 2-4 and 5-9 mg/l after 200 and 400 mg bid, respectively. The mean concentrations of unchanged drug in urine were about 200 and 300 mg/l at the respective dosages. The pattern of urinary metabolites was not changed by repeated doses and 90% of repeat doses was recovered in urine, including metabolites. The serum protein binding of fleroxacin was 32%. The saliva concentration was 40% of the total serum concentration or 60% of the free serum concentration. The faecal recovery over 3 days was 3% of the dose following a single 200 mg dose after a meal. The unchanged drug concentrations in faeces during 400 mg repeated dosing were 100-150 mg/kg. No severe dose-related side-effects were observed during the study.