Oral Sulfonamides in Lipid Emulsion: A Comparative Study of Free Sulfonamide Levels in Blood Following Oral Administration of Sulfonamides in Aqueous Suspension and in Lipid Emulsions to Infants and Children

Feinstone1 in 1940 called attention to the fact that following the oral administration of sulfonamides in lipid emulsion more sustained blood levels of free sulfonamide were obtained. Peterson and Finland2 in 1942 observed that patients given oral sulfonamides after meals had consistently higher blood levels than when the same dose was given in a fasting state. In 1945 Reinhold3 confirmed Peterson's observations and suggested the clinical use of lipid emulsions as vehicles for sulfonamide administration. No practical application of these observations was made until recently, when lipid emulsions of acetyl sulfisoxazole, sulfadiazine, and a triple sulfonamide were prepared.The present report is a comparative evaluation of the blood level of free sulfonamide obtained after the oral administration to fasting subjects of three sulfonamide preparations: (1) standard aqueous suspension, (2) a lipid emulsion base, and (3) in a limited number of patients the standard aqueous suspension followed by