Vancomycin concentrations in serum, tissues, and sternum, administered as p
rophylaxis to patients during coronary artery bypass surgery, were measured
. Vancomycin (15 mg/kg) was administered to 15 patients 1 hour before skin
incision. Blood, tissue, and sternum samples were collected before, during,
and after bypass. The concentration in serum at the end of infusion was 55
.1 +/- 22.8 mug/mL, the mean elimination half-life was 9 +/- 4 hours, the a
reas under the concentration-time curve (AUC) from 0 to 12 hours and from 0
to infinity were 90.6 +/- 25.1 and 289.7 +/- 86.5 mug/h per mi, respective
ly, the mean residence time (MRT) was 11.9 +/- 5.0 hours, the mean volume o
f distribution was 51.1 +/- 12.2 L, and the total clearance was 78.3 +/- 32
.6 mL/min. Vancomycin concentrations in serum, tissues, and sternum during
the operation were greater than the MIC90 for most staphylococci and ranged
from 16 to 55 mug/mL in serum and from 4 to 39 mug/g in sternum and tissue
s.