Abstract : In clinical practice, rifampicin exposure is estimated from its concentration in venous blood samples. In this study, we hypothesized that differences in rifampicin concentration may exist between arterial and venous plasma. An HPLC-UV method for determining rifampicin concentration in plasma using rifapentine as an internal standard was validated. The method, which requires a simple protein precipitation procedure as sample preparation, was performed to compare venous and arterial plasma kinetics after a single therapeutic dose of rifampicin (8.6 mg/kg i.v, infused over 30 min) in baboons (n = 3). The method was linear from 0.1 to 40 g mL −1 and all validation parameters fulfilled the international requirements. In baboons, rifampicin concentration in arterial plasma was higher than in venous plasma. Arterial C max was 2.1 ± 0.2 fold higher than venous C max. The area under the curve (AUC) from 0 to 120 min was ∼80% higher in arterial plasma, indicating a significant arteriovenous concentration gradient in early rifampicin pharmacokinetics. Arterial and venous plasma concentrations obtained 6 h after rifampicin injection were not different. An important arteriovenous equilibration delay for rifampicin pharmacokinetics is reported. Determination in venous plasma concentrations may considerably underestimate rifampicin exposure to organs during the distribution phase.
