Liposomal cefoxitin in a porcine model of intra-abdominal sepsis: bactericidal efficacy

Efficacy of liposomal antibiotic therapy in a rat infusion model of Escherichia coli peritonitis

OBJECTIVE

To compare the potential therapeutic effect of liposomal vs. free cefoxitin.

DESIGN

Randomized, controlled study, using a rat model of peritonitis.

SETTING

Government research facility.

SUBJECTS

Male Sprague-Dawley rats.

INTERVENTIONS

Rats were infused intraperitoneally with 6.5 x 10(8) colony forming units of Escherichia coli over 12 hrs. Animals were then randomized to receive intravenous saline, free cefoxitin, liposomal cefoxitin, or plain liposomes twice daily until they were killed.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Free cefoxitin significantly reduced the number of E. coli after 24 hrs compared with saline treatment in both liver and spleen. However, liposomal cefoxitin further decreased the bacterial content by five-fold to ten-fold in these organs. Minimal bactericidal effect was observed in animals injected with plain liposomes. Although administration of liposomal cefoxitin for 7 days further reduced bacterial counts in liver and spleen, there was no apparent beneficial bactericidal effect of free cefoxitin over saline at 7 days. There was approximately a ten-fold reduction in bacterial content in the lungs after 24 hrs in all three treatments, but no further reduction was observed after 7 days. There was no difference in 7-day survival rate in animals treated with plain liposomes or saline (45% vs. 39%). Although survival tended to increase with free cefoxitin treatment (64%), this outcome was significantly improved with the use of liposomal cefoxitin (82%).

CONCLUSIONS

Liposomal cefoxitin enhanced bacterial killing in liver and spleen in this model of E. coli peritonitis. It also improved survival outcome relative to no treatment but not compared with free cefoxitin.

Distribution of free and liposomal cefoxitin in plasma and peritoneal fluid in a porcine intra-abdominal sepsis model

The plasma and peritoneal fluid pharmacokinetic parameters obtained after the intravenous administration of free and liposomal cefoxitin were studied in a porcine model of intraabdominal sepsis. No prior assumptions were made to predict the number of compartments pertaining to drug clearance from the administration of either cefoxitin formulation. The experimental data obtained were applied to fit mathematical models of multiexponential drug clearance and the pharmacokinetic data were found to best fit a two-compartment open model. Liposomal encapsulation significantly altered the plasma drug distribution pattern resulting in changes in the magnitude of a number of pharmacokinetic parameters examined. The mean post-distributive half-life of liposomal cefoxitin was substantially longer than that of free cefoxitin by at least 3 times. The peritoneal cavity appeared to provide a reservoir for the initial distributive phase of rapid drug clearance from the plasma compartment followed by a less-rapid post-distributive phase. The cumulative drug level, as determined by the area under the concentration curve (AUC) as a function of time, in the plasma of animals treated with liposomal cefoxitin was about 3-4 fold as high as that of animals treated with free cefoxitin. The differences in pharmacokinetic parameters appeared to account for the improved therapeutic efficacy of liposomal cefoxitin in this animal model.