Propafenone disposition in renal insufficiency and renal failure

Systematic and quantitative assessment of the effect of chronic kidney disease on CYP2D6 and CYP3A4/5

Recent reviews suggest that chronic kidney disease (CKD) can affect the pharmacokinetics of nonrenally eliminated drugs, but the impact of CKD on individual elimination pathways has not been systematically evaluated. In this study we developed a comprehensive dataset of the effect of CKD on the pharmacokinetics of CYP2D6‐ and CYP3A4/5‐metabolized drugs. Drugs for evaluation were selected based on clinical drug–drug interaction (CYP3A4/5 and CYP2D6) and pharmacogenetic (CYP2D6) studies. Information from dedicated CKD studies was available for 13 and 18 of the CYP2D6 and CYP3A4/5 model drugs, respectively. Analysis of these data suggested that CYP2D6‐mediated clearance is generally decreased in parallel with the severity of CKD. There was no apparent relationship between the severity of CKD and CYP3A4/5‐mediated clearance. The observed elimination‐route dependency in CKD effects between CYP2D6 and CYP3A4/5 may inform the need to conduct clinical CKD studies with nonrenally eliminated drugs for optimal use of drugs in patients with CKD.

Human variability in polymorphic CYP2D6 metabolism: is the kinetic default uncertainty factor adequate?

Human variability in the kinetics of CYP2D6 substrates has been quantified using a database of compounds metabolised extensively (>60%) by this polymorphic enzyme. Published pharmacokinetic studies (after oral and intravenous dosing) in non-phenotyped healthy adults, and phenotyped extensive (EMs), intermediate or slow-extensive (SEMs) and poor metabolisers (PMs) have been analysed using data for parameters that relate primarily to chronic exposure (metabolic and total clearances, area under the plasma concentration time-curve) and primarily to acute exposure (peak concentration). Similar analyses were performed with the available data for subgroups of the population (age, ethnicity and disease). Interindividual differences in kinetics for markers of oral exposure were large for non-phenotyped individuals and for EMs (coefficients of variation were 67-71% for clearances and 54-63% for C(max)), whereas the intravenous data indicated a lower variability (34-38%). Comparisons between EMs, SEMs and PMs revealed an increase in oral internal dose for SEMs and PMs (ratio compared to EMs=3 and 9-12, respectively) associated with lower variability than that for non-phenotyped individuals (coefficients of variation were 32-38% and 30% for SEMs and PMs, respectively). In relation to the uncertainty factors used for risk assessment, most subgroups would not be covered by the kinetic default of 3.16. CYP2D6-related factors necessary to cover 95-99% of each subpopulation ranged from 2.7 to 4.1 in non-phenotyped healthy adults and EMs to 15-18 in PMs and 22-45 in children. An exponential relationship (R(2)=0.8) was found between the extent of CYP2D6 metabolism and the uncertainty factors. The extent of CYP2D6 involvement in the metabolism of a substrate is critical in the estimation of the CYP2D6-related factor. The 3.16 kinetic default factor would cover PMs for substrates for which CYP2D6 was responsible for up to 25% of the metabolism in EMs.

Propafenone disposition during continuous venovenous hemofiltration

OBJECTIVE

To determine the extent of removal of propafenone by continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) in a critically ill pediatric patient.

CASE SUMMARY

A three-year-old white-Japanese girl was admitted to the critical care unit following cardiac surgery. Her postoperative course was complicated by the development of junctional ectopic tachycardia, requiring propafenone, and acute renal failure, which necessitated the use of CVVH. The serum and ultrafiltrate concentrations of propafenone and its 5-hydroxy metabolite were measured to determine both total and CVVH clearance.

CONCLUSIONS

The data from this case report showed that propafenone was not significantly removed by CVVH. Furthermore, the total clearance of propafenone was not affected by the patient's renal or liver function impairment.

Influence of renal function on the steady-state pharmacokinetics of the antiarrhythmic propafenone and its phase I and phase II metabolites

The aim of this study was to investigate the disposition of propafenone and its Phase I and II metabolites in relation to kidney function under steady-state conditions. The mechanism of the renal handling of propafenone glucuronides (filtration, secretion) was also examined. Racemic (R/S) propafenone was administered to 7 young volunteers, to 5 older patients with a normal glomerular filtration rate and to 4 patients with chronic renal failure. No difference was found in the plasma concentrations of propafenone and 5-hydroxypropafenone between the three groups. The propafenone glucuronide (PPFG) concentration was elevated in the older compared to the younger subjects (S-PPFG: 544 vs. 222 nmol.ml-1.mol-1; R-PPFG: 576 vs. 304 nmol.ml-1.mol-1). Although Glomerular filtration rate did not differ, the renal clearance of propafenone glucuronides was reduced in the former group, which could be attributed to their impaired renal secretion. A dramatic increase in propafenone glucuronide concentration was observed in the patients with renal failure (S-PPFG: 2783 nmol.ml-1.mol-1; R-PPFG: 7340 nmol.ml-1.mol-1). In summary, the disposition of propafenone and of its active metabolite 5-hydroxypropafenone was not affected by kidney dysfunction, indicating that no dose adjustment is necessary in patients with renal failure. The accumulation of drug glucuronides in older patients with apparently normal kidney function should be taken into account as a possible factor modifying drug therapy.

The effect of renal failure on hepatic drug clearance

It is known that loss of renal function decreases the hepatic clearance of some drugs, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are unclear. Knowledge of which drugs display reduced hepatic metabolism may be important for appropriate dosing of these drugs in uremic patients. Although no firm conclusions can be made regarding common pharmacokinetic and metabolic characteristics of drugs that display decreased hepatic metabolism in renal failure, certain observations deserve consideration. It appears that drugs metabolized by oxidation, conjugation, or both may be predisposed to decreased hepatic clearance in renal failure. Drugs that undergo oxidation by the P-450IID6 isozyme may be more likely to exhibit inhibition whereas those metabolized by the P-450IIIA4 isozyme may be spared. Future studies designed to clarify the mechanisms of decreased hepatic clearance in renal failure should take into account the multiplicity of P-450 enzymes for drugs that are oxidatively metabolized. The phenomenon of reduced hepatic drug clearance in uremia should be considered when evaluating the influence of renal failure on drug disposition.

Pharmacokinetics of newer drugs in patients with renal impairment (Part II)

Cardiovascular diseases occur frequently in patients with renal failure. Any pharmacokinetic impairment in these diseases should be considered when individualizing drug therapy. The pharmacokinetics of new cardiovascular drugs in uraemic patients are reviewed: alpha- and beta-blocking agents, ACE inhibitors, centrally acting antihypertensive agents, calcium antagonists, antiarrhythmic agents and inotropic agents. Guidelines are proposed for adjustment of dosage regimens as a function of renal impairment. Renal or extrarenal elimination of drugs and their metabolites, and the activity of the latter, are taken into account. The disposition of new drugs such as flestolol, alacepril, delapril, propafenone, milrinone or enoximone, is not well documented in patients with renal failure. Further characterizations of the elimination of these compounds are needed and the potential therapeutic or toxic effects of the metabolites require evaluation to determine whether the dosage needs to be adjusted. Until such investigations are performed, those drugs should not be used in uraemic patients; if no therapeutic alternative is available, clinical controls are necessary at regular intervals. Relationships between pharmacological or therapeutic effects and drug plasma concentrations should be evaluated for such long term use drugs. The knowledge of a plasma concentration therapeutic window is important to provide information which will be useful in determining appropriate drug dosage in renal failure.

Hemodialysis removal of propafenone

Propafenone kinetics were studied after intravenous and oral dosing in a patient with end-stage renal disease. Hemodialysis was performed within 10 hours of dosing in order to assess its effects. After intravenous administration of 70 mg propafenone, total-body clearance was 10.5 ml/min/kg before and 10.4 ml/min/kg during hemodialysis. After a single oral dose of 300 mg, clearance was 19.4 ml/min/kg before and 18.9 ml/min/kg during hemodialysis. Bioavailability was 48%.