[Clinical evaluation of the postburn retention and the metabolism of Imipenem in the third space].

Objective: To explore the half life and retention of Imipenem in the third space.

Methods: Eight severely burned patients and eight healthy volunteers were enrolled as the burn group (B) and normal control group (C), respectively. HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) was employed to determine the contents of Imipenem in the plasma, subeschar tissue fluid (STF) and the changes in its pharmacokinetics. Furthermore, the Imipenem content in the third space was calculated according to the systemic edema degree.

Results: The half life of Imipenem in STF (2.53 h) was longer than that in plasma (1.73 h), P < 0.05). The Imipenem content in STF increased gradually along with the lapse of time after repeated intravenous infusion of Imipenem, and at the same the total content of imipenem was increased significantly in the third space.

Conclusion: There was antibiotic retention in the third space after severe burn injury, and a prolonged action of the drug could be expected when the drug re-entered the blood stream.