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Efficacy of intratracheal instillation of a meropenem/perfluorochemical suspension in acute lung injury

Perfluorochemical (PFC) is theoretically a good vehicle for delivering biological agents to the lungs. This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of intratracheal (IT) instillation of meropenem using PFC liquid as a vehicle in a piglet model of acute lung injury (ALI). Eighteen piglets were injured with lung lavages to induce ALI, and randomly assigned to intravenous (IV) infusion or IT instillation groups, the latter using either PFC or normal saline (NS) as a delivery vehicle for meropenem. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 15, 30, and 60 min, and then hourly for 6 hr. Sera and extracts of lung tissues were assayed for meropenem content using high‐performance liquid chromatography. We found that the IV group had significantly higher serum concentrations of meropenem during the first hour after dosing (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between IT‐PFC and IT‐NS groups regarding changes in serum meropenem concentrations during the experimental period. Meropenem content in lung tissue was highest in the IT‐PFC group, lower in the IT‐NS group, and undetectable in the IV group (P < 0.05). The IT‐NS group had the highest peak inspiratory pressure (P < 0.05), but there were no significant differences in other cardiopulmonary parameters among the three groups studied. In conclusion, meropenem can be safely administered to injured lungs by IT instillation in a meropenem/PFC suspension. Using PFC liquid as an IT vehicle to carry meropenem provides better pulmonary drug depositions than IV injection or IT instillation with NS in ALI. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2012; 47:189–198. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.