Pharmacokinetic and clinical studies on biapenem (L-627) in the pediatric field

Pharmacokinetic and clinical studies on biapenem (L-627), a newly developed carbapenem, were performed and the following results were obtained. 1. Absorption/excretion: Pharmacokinetics of biapenem was studied in 14 children at doses of 6 mg/kg and 12 mg/kg administered through 30 minutes-drip infusion. Peak plasma levels and plasma half-lives of the 2 doses were 22.5, 29.9 micrograms/ml, and 0.84, 0.85 hours, respectively. Their urinary recovery rates were 54.5 to 76.1% and 37.3 to 59.5%, respectively. Cerebrospinal fluid levels of biapenem in two patients with purulent meningitis were 0.88 and 2.72 micrograms/ml, and the penetration rates were 3.7 to 8.3%. 2. Clinical study: Forty-nine patients were treated with biapenem at doses exceeding 90 to 100 mg/kg/day for purulent meningitis and at doses between 15.0 and 36.0 mg/kg/day for other infections. Biapenem gave "Excellent" or "Good" responses in 48 cases, hence an efficacy rate of 98.0% was obtained. Only one patient with pneumonia showed a fair response. No adverse reactions were observed. Abnormal laboratory test results were noted in 7 patients including elevation of GOT, GPT, and eosinophils. In no cases the treatment had to be discontinued.