Pharmacokinetics of Azithromycin in trachoma patients : Serum and tear Levels

Abstract Objective To determine the effectiveness of single-dose oral azithromycin in the treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis through monitoring of tear and serum levels. Design Nonrandomized, clinical trial. Participants Fourteen school-age children with active trachoma (one failed to complete the study). Intervention A single dose of azithromycin (20 mg/kg) was administered orally to 14 patients, and tear and serum levels were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography at 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 hours after administration. Main outcome measures Azithromycin levels in tears and serum. Results Peak levels of 1.53 μg/ml (standard deviation [SD] ± 0.94) and 0.15 μg/ml (SD ± 0.04) were obtained at 12 hours in both tears and serum, gradually decreasing over 144 hours. All patients were disease-free by 6 months. Conclusions Levels of azithromycin in patients with trachoma were found to be within minimum inhibitory concentration range for Chlamydia trachomatis (0.03–0.25 μg/ml) throughout the monitored period of 6 days.