Tissue concentrations of vancomycin and moxifloxacin in periprosthetic infection in rats

Background A one-step exchange of an endoprosthesis with periprosthetic infection requires effective antibiotics at high concentrations around the endoprosthesis. We evaluated the tissue distribution of vancomycin and moxifloxacin in a standardized in vivo model of periprosthetic infection. Methods 36 male rats with periprosthetic infection of the left hind leg, induced by a standardized procedure, received either antibiotic treatment with vancomycin or moxifloxacin twice daily for 2 weeks, or a sham treatment. After the last administration, different tissues from each animal were evaluated for concentrations of antibiotic. Results Compared to plasma, the tissue concentrations of moxifloxacin were higher in all tissues investigated (lung, muscle, fat, bone) and the tissue-plasma ratio of moxifloxacin was considerably higher than that of vancomycin. The concentrations of moxifloxacin were equally high in the infected and the uninfected hind leg, whereas the vancomycin concentrations were significantly higher in the infected leg. Interpretation The standardized model of periprosthetic infection described here can be extrapolated to different bacterial and mycotic pathogens, and also to different antibiotics or therapeutic regimes. It provides a way of correlating tissue concentrations with clinical outcome in future studies.