Cytochrome P450 phenotyping provides valuable information about real-time activity of these important drug-metabolizing enzymes through the use of specific probe drugs. Despite more than 20 years of research, few conclusions regarding optimal phenotyping methods have been reached. Caffeine offers many advantages for CYP1A2 phenotyping, but the widely used caffeine urinary metabolic ratios may not be the optimal method of measuring CYP1A2 activity. Several probes of CYP2C9 activity have been suggested, but little information exists regarding their use, largely due to the narrow therapeutic index of most CYP2C9 probes. Mephenytoin has long been considered the standard CYP2C19 phenotyping probe, but problems such as sample stability and adverse effects have prompted the investigation of potential alternatives, such as omeprazole. Several well-validated CYP2D6 probes are available, including dextromethorphan, debrisoquin and sparteine, but, in most cases, dextromethorphan may be preferred due to its wide safety margin and availability. Chlorzoxazone remains the only CYP2E1 probe that has received much study. However, questions concerning phenotyping method and involvement of other enzymes have impaired its acceptance as a suitable CYP2E1 phenotyping probe. CYP3A phenotyping has been the subject of numerous investigations, reviews and commentaries. Nevertheless, much controversy regarding the selection of an ideal CYP3A probe remains. Of all the proposed methods, midazolam plasma clearance and the erythromycin breath test have been the most rigorously studied and appear to be the most reliable of the available methods. Despite the limitations of many currently available probes, with continued research, phenotyping will become an even more valuable research and clinical resource.

The absolute bioavailability of oral melatonin tablets was studied in 12 normal healthy volunteers. Subjects were administered, in a randomized crossover fashion, melatonin 2 mg intravenously and 2 and 4 mg orally. Blood was sampled over approximately eight (estimated) half-lives. Both the 2 and the 4 mg oral dosages showed an absolute bioavailability of approximately 15%. No difference in serum half-life was seen in any of the study phases. Oral melatonin tablets in dosages of 2 and 4 mg show poor absolute bioavailability, either due to poor oral absorption, large first-pass metabolism, or a combination of both. Further studies examining larger doses, in an attempt to saturate first-pass metabolism if it occurs, may be warranted.

Nosocomial pneumonia is a notable cause of morbidity and mortality and leads to increases in lengths of hospital stays and institutional expenditures. Aminoglycosides are used to treat patients with these infections, but few data on the doses and schedules required to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes exist. We analyzed aminoglycoside treatment data for 78 patients with nosocomial pneumonia to determine if optimization of aminoglycoside pharmacodynamic parameters results in a more rapid therapeutic response (defined by outcome and days to leukocyte count resolution and temperature resolution). Cox proportional hazards, Classification and Regression Tree (CART), and logistic regression analyses were applied to the data. By all analyses, the first measured maximum concentration of drug in serum (C max)/MIC predicted days to temperature resolution and the second measured C max/MIC predicted days to leukocyte count resolution. For days to temperature resolution and leukocyte count resolution, CART analyses produced breakpoints, with an 89% success rate at 7 days of therapy for aC max/MIC of >4.7 and an 86% success rate at 7 days of therapy for a C max/MIC of >4.5, respectively. Logistic regression analyses predicted a 90% probability of temperature resolution and leukocyte count resolution by day 7 if aC max/MIC of ≥10 is achieved within the first 48 h of aminoglycoside therapy. Aggressive aminoglycoside dosing immediately followed by individualized pharmacokinetic monitoring would ensure that C max/MIC targets are achieved early in therapy. This would increase the probability of a rapid therapeutic response for pneumonia caused by gram-negative bacteria and potentially decreasing durations of parenteral antibiotic therapy, lengths of hospitalization, and institutional expenditures, a situation in which both the patient and the institution benefit.

Previously, we have validated a 4-drug phenotyping cocktail, the "Cooperstown cocktail," using caffeine (cytochrome p450 [CYP] 1A2, N-acetyltransferase-2 [NAT2], and xanthine oxidase [XO]), dextromethorphan (CYP2D6), omeprazole (CYP2C19), and intravenous midazolam (hepatic CYP3A). Data suggest that warfarin can be used as a safe and accurate biomarker for CYP2C9, and if warfarin is administered with vitamin K, the pharmacodynamic effect is ablated. Twelve subjects received the Cooperstown cocktail, warfarin plus vitamin K, and both sets of biomarkers (Cooperstown 5+1 cocktail) in a randomized crossover fashion. On the basis of log-transformed data and a paired t test, no significant difference was seen for S-warfarin area under the serum concentration-time curve from time 0 to infinity (P =.09), omeprazole metabolic ratio (P =.374), caffeine metabolic ratio (P =.169 for CYP1A2 activity), midazolam plasma clearance (P =.573), or dextromethorphan metabolic ratio (P =.747) with the Cooperstown cocktail, warfarin plus vitamin K alone, or the Cooperstown 5+1 cocktail. During drug administration, the only side effect was mild and short-lived sedation after intravenous midazolam administration. Phenotypic measurements were in concordance with the subject's CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP2D6 genotypes. The Cooperstown 5+1 cocktail may be used to simultaneously assess the activities of CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP3A, NAT2, and XO.

These results indicate no pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic interactions that would limit the utility of this phenotyping cocktail for simultaneous measurement of the activity of multiple drug-metabolizing enzymes.

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Incidence of and risk factors for aminoglycoside-associated nephrotoxicity (AAN) were evaluated in 1489 patients prospectively monitored with individualized pharmacokinetic monitoring (IPM). Incidence of AAN was 7.9% with individual (univariate) risk factors including advanced age, decreased albumin, poor nutritional status, pneumonia, concurrent furosemide, amphotericin B, vancomycin, cephalosporin, or piperacillin, intensive care unit treatment, leukemia, rapidly fatal illness, liver or renal disease, reduced aminoglycoside clearance, elevated initial steady-state trough concentration (Cminss), volume of distribution or half-life, duration of therapy, total dose, fever, male gender, shock, pleural effusion, and ascites. Multiple logistic regression revealed that Cminss, concurrent clindamycin, vancomycin, piperacillin, or cephalosporin, ascites, advanced age, male gender, decreased albumin, duration of therapy, and leukemia were significant independent risk factors for AAN. Positive predictive value of the model was 30.8%; negative predictive value was 91.7%. No identifiable risk factor alone or in combination was of sufficient sensitivity to reliably predict AAN, but use of IPM may lower the incidence of AAN.

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