Comparative studies on the action of aminoglycosides and cephalosporins on the proximal tubule of the human kidney

Abstract

The urinary excretion of alanine aminopeptidase was measured in healthy volunteers, 59 receiving cephalosporins and 78 receiving aminoglycosides over a period of 3 days. A rise in excretion of the enzyme followed administration of cephacetrile 8.0 g daily but was not seen after 8.0 g cephalothin or 6.0 g doses of cefamandole or cephacetril. All the aminoglycosides tested produced a rise in enzyme excretion in the urine with amikacin (10 mg/kg/day), gentamicin (3 mg/kg/day) and sisomicin (3 mg/kg/day) producing higher mean MICs than seen with tobramycin (3 mg/kg/day) or netilmicin (3 mg/kg/day). The effect was shown to be dose-related in further studies with amikacin and netilmicin.