Blood, urine and urogenital tract tissue concentrations of norfloxacin (Sebercim) after single oral dose in human patients

In a study of the diffusion of norfloxacin (Sebercim*) through tissues of the urogenital tract, a single oral dose of 400 mg of norfloxacin was given to 13 male patients, aged between 59 and 77 years, requiring total cistectomy. All patients gave their informed consent to take part in the trial. Tissue and blood samples were taken at intervals of four, six, eight and 14 hours after administrations of the drug and stored at -20°C awaiting analysis. Urine samples taken at two, four, six and 12 hours were stored in the same conditions. Norfloxacin levels were determined by biological assay. In the urinary bladder wall, the pericycstium, the seminal vesicles and the prostate, mean values for the four-hour samples were 2.28, 0.68, 1.78 and 1.97 μg/g, respectively, with a range in the prostate from 0.78 to 3.28 μg/g. The six- and eight-hour samples showed mean concentrations still effective against most of the micro-organisms responsible for urogenital tract infections. Tissue concentrations from the fourth to eighth hour were at least double the blood concentration for the same patient, except in the pericystium, where values were in the same range as those in the blood. Results of the study showed norfloxacin to have a good power of penetration throughout the tissues of the male urogenital tract, thus indicating its suitability for prophylaxis of infection in urological surgery and for treatment of urogenital infections.