Single- and multiple-dose pharmacokinetics of moxalactam in normal subjects.

The pharmacokinetics of moxalactam were studied in 86 normal adult male volunteers who received single or multiple doses intravenously or intramuscularly. The short absorption half-times and lag times indicate that the intramuscular dose is rapidly absorbed. The mean plasma half-life was 1.85 +/- 0.24 h for intravenous doses and 2.24 +/- 0.44 h for intramuscular doses. The mean renal clearances for intravenous doses were 0.052 and 0.067 liters/kg per h for intramuscular doses. Although moxalactam is eliminated primarily by the kidney a chromatogram of the feces from volunteers who received multiple doses showed that it is also excreted as the parent compound in to the feces via the biliary tract. The pharmacokinetics parameters of moxalactam when administered intravenously or intramuscularly in single and multiple doses clearly show the kinetics of moxalactam are linear over the dosage ranges studied and are independent of dose.