Multiple-dose pharmacokinetics of teicoplanin, a glycopeptide antibiotic against gram-positive infections, were studied in 9 chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients and in 7 patients with an acute renal failure (ARF) treated by continuous veno-venous hemodialysis (CVVHD). After a loading dose of 800 mg i.v. the 400 mg maintenance doses were administered according to a target trough concentration of 5-15 mg/l. Using the Bayesian estimation method implemented in the computer program Abbottbase Pharmacokinetic System (PKS), we defined an open three-compartment kinetic model for teicoplanin and calculated the individual pharmacokinetics. The mean terminal elimination half-life was 176 +/- 41.3 h in the HD group and 99 +/- 22.3 h in the CVVHD group (p < 0.005). The total body clearance (CL) was 4 +/- 1.2 ml/min and 9.2 +/- 1.7 ml/min in the HD and CVVHD patients respectively (p < 0.001). The mean reduction of the serum levels during a HD session was 9.1% in the patients dialysed with a F8 filter and 20.2% with a high-flux F60 filter (p < 0.001). The resulting extraction rate was 10 +/- 3.6% (F8) which is similar to the unbound fraction. The elimination of teicoplanin during CVVHD therapy strongly depended on the ultrafiltration rate (UFR) (r = 0.923, p < 0.05). An UFR of 15.6 l/24 h resulted in a removal of 32%/24 h of a 400 mg dose and an UFR of 6.2 l/24 h in 9.5%/24 h respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)