Itraconazole is a new triazole compound with a broad spectrum of activity against a number of fungal pathogens, including Aspergillus species. The drug is being used increasingly as prophylaxis in patients with immunodepression. Itraconazole is highly lipophilic and only ionised at low pH. The absolute availability of capsules in healthy volunteers under fasting conditions is about 55% and is increased after a meal. Itraconazole is 99.8% bound to human plasma proteins and its apparent volume of distribution is about 11 L/kg. The drug is extensively metabolised by the liver. Among the metabolites, hydroxy-itraconazole is of particular interest because its antifungal activity measured in vitro is similar to that of the parent drug and its plasma concentration is 2 to 3 times higher than that of itraconazole. Mean total itraconazole blood clearance determined in healthy volunteers following a single intravenous infusion was 39.6 L/h. After a single oral dose, the terminal elimination half-life of itraconazole is about 24 hours. The drug exhibits a dose-dependent pharmacokinetic behaviour. Renal failure does not affect the pharmacokinetic properties of itraconazole; however, little is known about the effects of hepatic insufficiency. In immunocompromised patients the absorption of itraconazole is affected by gastrointestinal disorders caused by diseases and cytotoxic chemotherapy. The pharmacokinetics of itraconazole may be significantly altered when the drug is coadministered with certain other agents. Itraconazole is a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 and, thus, can also considerably change the pharmacokinetics of other drugs. Such changes may have clinically relevant consequences. Itraconazole appears to be well tolerated. Gastrointestinal disturbances and dizziness are the most frequently reported adverse effects. Clinical studies in patients with haemotological malignancies suggest that plasma concentrations [measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)] > or = 250 micrograms/L itraconazole, or 750 to 1000 micrograms/L for itraconazole plus hydroxy-itraconazole, are required for effective prophylactic antifungal activity. It seems that a curative effect may be enhanced by ensuring that itraconazole plasma concentrations exceed 500 micrograms/L. The marked intra- and inter-patient variability in the pharmacokinetics of the drug, and the fact that it is impossible to predict steady-state plasma concentrations from the initial dosage are major factors obscuring any clear relationship between dose and plasma concentrations and clinical efficacy. Thus, in patients with life-threatening fungal infections treated with itraconazole drug, plasma concentrations should be regularly monitored to ensure sufficient drug exposure for antifungal activity.

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Aims Obesity can modify the pharmacokinetics of lipophilic drugs. As b-adrenoceptor blockers (BB) are often prescribed for obese patients suffering from hypertension or coronary heart disease, this study compares the pharmacokinetics of lipophilic b-adrenoceptor blockers in obese and control subjects. Methods Nine obese (157±24% of ideal body weight (IBW) mean±s.d.) and nine non-obese healthy volunteers (98±10% IBW), aged 32±9 years, were included in the study. Subjects were randomly given a single i.v. infusion of one of the following racemic b-adrenoceptor blockers, whose doses (expressed as base per kg of IBW) were: propranolol (0.108 mg), labetalol (0.99 mg) and nebivolol (0.073 mg ). The plasma concentrations of unchanged drugs were measured by h.p.l.c. The ionisation constants and lipophilicity parameters of b-adrenoceptor blockers were assessed. Results The pharmacokinetic data for the three drugs were qualitatively similar. There was a trend towards a greater total distribution volume (V ss ) in obese patients than in controls. However, V ss expressed per kg body weight was slightly smaller in obese patients. The relationship between V ss and lipophilicity of five b-adrenoceptor was studied by combining the current results with those previously obtained with a moderately lipophilic drug (bisoprolol ) and a hydrophilic one (sotalol). The V ss of the five drugs was positively and well-correlated (r 2 =0.90; P<0.01) with their distribution coefficient at pH 7.4 (log D 7.4 ), but not with their partition coefficients. The linear regression coefficients for lean and obese subjects were very similar. Conclusions Lipophilic b-adrenoceptor blockers seem to diffuse less into adipose than into lean tissues. All electrical forms of the drugs (i.e. cations, neutral forms, or zwitterions) present at physiological pH contribute to their tissue distribution, in both obese and lean subjects.Their tissue distribution in obese patients could be restricted by the sum of hydrophobic forces and hydrogen bonds they elicit with macromolecules in lean tissues.

Studies in animals have shown that drug-induced action potential prolongation with class III antiarrhythmic agents increases with slow pacing rates. We studied the physiological rate dependence of sotalol effects on ventricular repolarization, measured as QT interval duration on the surface electrocardiogram at rest and during a maximal exercise test, in 10 normal volunteers. In a randomized, crossover study, three dosages of sotalol (160 mg/24 hr, 320 mg/24 hr, and 640 mg/24 hr) were administered during 4 days to each subject. In a control period, no drug was administered. During each period, 50-100 QT intervals were measured over a wide range of RR intervals recorded at rest and during the course of a maximal exercise test. Plasma sotalol concentration and beta-adrenoceptor blockade (percent reduction in peak exercise heart rate from control) were also measured. The QT-versus-RR relation was fitted to several formulas, and the overall best fit was used to calculate QT interval duration normalized for a heart rate of 60 beats/min (QTc) and to analyze the rate dependence of QT prolongation with sotalol. Sotalol-induced beta-adrenoceptor blockade and QTc prolongation were dose and concentration dependent. Sotalol reduced peak exercise heart rate by 13.8 +/- 7% at the dosage of 320 mg/24 hr and by 25.4 +/- 8% at the dosage of 640 mg/24 hr (both p less than 0.01). Sotalol prolonged QTc interval by 5.8 +/- 3.7% and 11.8 +/- 3% at these respective dosages (both p less than 0.01). The concentration of sotalol required to produce minimal (mean QTc prolongation, 5.6%; confidence interval, 0-11.2%) QTc prolongation (680 ng/ml) tended to be lower than that required for minimal (mean percent reduction in maximal exercise heart rate, 13.9%; confidence interval, 0-27.8%) beta-blockade (840 ng/ml). QT prolongation with sotalol increased with increasing RR intervals (i.e., decreasing heart rate) at all dosages. QT prolongation became statistically significant for RR of 800 msec or more at all dosages and for RR intervals of 600 msec or more at the dosage of 640 mg/24 hr. This rate dependence altered the relation between QT interval duration and sotalol plasma concentrations. These results suggest that sotalol prolongs QTc interval in humans at dosages and concentrations similar to those required to produce beta-adrenoceptor blockade, QT prolongation with sotalol is more pronounced when heart rate decreases and is not apparent during exercise-induced tachycardia, and the relation between QT prolongation with sotalol and plasma concentrations of the drug depends on the heart rate at which measurements are made.

Indinavir is a specific and potent HIV protease inhibitor. A new column liquid chromatographic method for the determination of this drug is described. This assay was developed for the clinical monitoring of trough concentrations in AIDS patients, using a 1-mL plasma sample volume. Determination of indinavir was made by a rapid solid-phase extraction procedure with the new polymeric Oasis HLB sorbent followed by a reversed-phase liquid chromatography and a UV detection at 210 nm. A weighted least squares linear regression (weighting factor = 1/y where y = peak height ratio) was used to calculate the equation relating the peak-height ratio of the drug and the internal standard to the concentration of indinavir in the range 10-800 ng/mL (0.014-1.124 microM). At the lower limit of quantification (10 ng/mL), the mean accuracy was 102 +/- 7% and 104 +/- 11% for within- and between-day analysis, respectively. The limit of detection, based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 2:1, was 4 ng/mL (0.006 microM). Compounds of interest were eluted from the extraction cartridges with 300 microL of mobile phase, and mean absolute recoveries of indinavir and internal standard were 66.4% and 80.3%, respectively. No metabolite of indinavir was found to co-elute with the drug or its internal standard. Among the tested drugs, especially nucleoside analogues and the other protease inhibitors used in clinical care, none was found to interfere with the assay at this time. This simple and selective method is suitable for therapeutic indinavir monitoring.