Abstract

The pharmacokinetics of penicillin G and ampicillin are reviewed as they pertain to their potential use in in vitro therapy. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Highlights

  • Pharmacokinetics, benzylpenicillin, penicillin G, [3-1actams, group B streptococcal (GBS) prophylaxis he molecular structure of the penicillins consists of a thiazolidine ring connected to a [3-1actam ring attached to a side chain

  • A review of the literature on penicillin G and ampicillin reveals a dearth of pharmacokinetic data on penicillin G in pregnant subjects and extensive data on ampicillin in such patients.[2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]

  • Once pharmacologically significant levels of an antibiotic are attained in the fetal compartment, the key question governing the biologic effectiveness is the spectrum of susceptibility of the organism involved. Both penicillin G and ampicillin share a common spectrum of activity against gram-positive bacteria

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Summary

LITERATURE REVIEW

A review of the literature on penicillin G and ampicillin reveals a dearth of pharmacokinetic data on penicillin G in pregnant subjects and extensive data on ampicillin in such patients.[2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] A partial explanation emanates from the fact that penicillin G was widely used prior to the evolution of pharmacokinetics into a distinct discipline. One of the keys to effective in utero therapy concerns how much pharmacologically active antibiotic appropriate to the bacteria in question can be delivered in a relatively limited time Both penicillin G (pKa 2.8 for its free carboxylicacid group) and ampicillin (pKa 2.5 for its free carboxylic-acid group and pKa 7.2 for its free amino group) are highly ionized (>99.9%) under physiologic conditions. Once pharmacologically significant levels of an antibiotic are attained in the fetal compartment, the key question governing the biologic effectiveness is the spectrum of susceptibility of the organism involved. Both penicillin G and ampicillin share a common spectrum of activity against gram-positive bacteria.

CONCLUSIONS
Findings
Philipson A
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