Despite its use for decades, pharmacokinetic (PK) and safety studies on colistin are limited. We conducted a phase l, open-label trial to evaluate the safety and PK of multiple doses of intravenous (IV) and aerosolized colistimethate sodium (CMS) administered separately and in combination. In total, 31 healthy adults were enrolled into three cohorts of 9, 10, and 12 participants, respectively. Each cohort received increasing doses of CMS over three dosing periods as follows: Period 1 (IV only), 2.5 mg/kg every 12 h (q12h) to 3.3 mg/kg every 8 h (q8h); Period 2 (aerosolized only), 75 mg 2-4 doses, and Period 3 (combined IV aerosolized), in which was Periods 1 and 2 combined. Safety assessments, serum and lung concentrations of colistin analytes (colistin A, colistin B, CMS A, and CMS B), and kidney biomarkers were measured at specified time points. Increasing the CMS dose from 2.5 mg/kg q12h to q8h resulted in a 33% increase in serum colistin A concentrations from 3.9 μg/mL to 5.3 μg/mL-well above the accepted target of 2 μg/mL for 6 h after dosing, without evidence of nephrotoxicity. However, there was an increase in neurotoxicity, primarily perioral and lingual paresthesias, and self-limited ataxia. IV administration did not increase the lung concentrations of colistin.
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance; colistin; gram-negative bacteria; pharmacokinetics.