A prospective evaluation of plasma and tissue cefoxitin concentrations in patients undergoing sleeve gastrectomy was performed. On the day of the surgical procedure, venous blood samples (5 mL) were collected just before cefoxitin administration and then at 5, 30, 60, 120, and 240 minutes after dose administration. In addition, subcutaneous adipose tissue was collected from the surgical site at the time of surgical incision and at closure. Cefoxitin concentrations in the collected samples were quantified by using an HPLC–ultraviolet method. A standard noncompartmental analysis was performed for each individual cefoxitin plasma concentration–time profile. In addition, the ratio of tissue to plasma concentration was calculated for all patients.
Plasma and tissue pharmacokinetics of cefoxitin were evaluated in 6 patients undergoing sleeve gastrectomy. The mean age and BMI were 48.7 (6.2) years and 42.8 (7.1) kg/m2, respectively. At the time of surgical closure, subcutaneous adipose tissue concentrations of cefoxitin were subtherapeutic (<8 µg/mL) in all evaluated patients.
Current dosing strategies for cefoxitin in obese surgical patients may be inadequate, and there is an urgent need to define the appropriate dosage.