Oral and maxillofacial tissue penetration of levofloxacin following oral administration of a single 500 mg dose

We examined the transfer of levofloxacin (LVFX) into serum, gingiva, dental follicles, and mandibular bone following oral administration of a single 500 mg dose of LVFX to 10 subjects, comprising 3 males and 7 females. The mean concentrations 2.0 to 4.5 h after administration in serum, gingiva, dental follicles, and mandibular bone were 4.85 ± 0.82 μg/mL, 7.76 ± 3.21, 7.38 ± 2.04 μg/g, and 2.90 ± 1.94, respectively. The mean ratios of concentrations in gingiva/serum, dental follicle/serum, and mandibular bone/serum were 1.58 ± 0.53, 1.54 ± 0.50, and 0.59 ± 0.35, respectively. The mean LVFX concentrations in gingival tissue, dental follicles and mandibular bone exceeded the MIC for 90% of clinically isolated oral strains of streptococci and most of the anaerobic bacteria. These results indicated that LVFX penetrated well into oral and maxillofacial tissue and that LVFX 500 mg q.d. treatment was as effective as, or more effective than, 100 mg t.i.d. for the clinical treatment of oral infections.