The Journal of infectious diseases
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For determination of the best basis on which to calculate dosages of gentamicin or tobramycin to be administered to obese patients, the pharmacokinetics of these drugs were studied in 13 obese subjects and 13 subjects of a normal weight following intravenous infusion of 1 mg/kg. Half-lives, elimination constants, and absolute and relative volumes of distribution were calculated. ⋯ These results indicate that gentamicin and tobramycin are distributed less to adipose tissue than to other tissues, but partial distribution to adipose tissue does occur. The mean relative volume of distribution in obese subjects closely approximated that in normal subjects when normalized body mass plus 40% of the adipose mass was used as the total weight in obese subjects.