Pharmacokinetics of ampicillin administered intravenously and intraosseously to kittens

An aqueous solution of ampicillin sodium (100 mg ml^-1) was administered intravenously and intraosseously to six kitten at 50 mg kg^-1 in a crossover study. Jugular vein blood samples were taken at intervals up to eight hours after treatment and the serum ampicillin concentration-time data, derived from a microbiological assay, were analysed pharmacokinetically. The disposition kinetics of ampicillin administered by the two routes were very similar. The mean elimination half-life (t _i ²β), the area-derived volume of distribution (V_area) and the total body clearance (Cl_B) values after the intravenous and intraosseous treatment were 86·3 and 79·0 minutes, 0·9 and 0·8 litre kg^-1 and 7·3 and 7·6 ml min ^-1 kg^-1, respectively. No side-effects related to the intraosseous administration of the drug were observed.