Polymyxins Nebulization over Intravenous Injection: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics-Based Therapeutic Evaluation

Polymyxins are the last line potential antibiotics against multi-drug resistant gram-negative bacteria and consist of two sister antibiotics: Polymyxin B and colistin (polymyxin E). Intravenous use of polymyxins was started from a long ago in the treatment of serious gram-negative infections and once their uses were restricted due to potential adverse drug reactions, such as nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Lack of in vivo clinical studies on polymyxins mostly, in human body makes the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of polymyxin B and colistin unclear in many aspects, such as the distribution of polymyxins in different compartments of lung. The nebulization of polymyxins is practicing very limitedly and lack of clinical evidence has not justified this administration technique yet properly to date. The main objective of this review study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of intravenous and nebulized polymyxins and the related therapeutic potentialities. Aerosolized polymyxins directly administered to the respiratory tract was found with higher drug concentration in different subcompartments of lungs than the intravenous administration and sustainably meets the minimum inhibitory concentration locally with superior bactericidal properties in respiratory tract infections. In contrast, intravenous administration of polymyxins shows similar anti-infective superiority in other organs, such as blood, urinary tract etc. So, during this alarming situation of rapidly emerging multidrug-resistant organisms in human communities, therapeutic administration techniques of last resort polymyxins should be clinically evidence-based for achieving optimum therapeutic outcomes with minimum chance of adverse drug reactions.