Abstract
Previous procainamide pharmacokinetic studies have involved the use of colorimetric and fluorimetric methods for the determination of drug concentrations in plasma and urine. However, recent evidence shows that N-acetyl procainamide, the major metabolite in humans, is hydrolyzed during these assay procedures. As a result, a specific gas chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of procainamide in biological fluids. Using this assay procedure, the pharmacokinetics of procainamide were studied in 7 normal subjects following intravenous administration of the drug. The values of half-life (2.08 +/- 0.52 hr), volume of distribution (4.3 +/- 0.6 1/Kg) and total body clearance (1344 +/- 238 ml/min) found in this study differed from those previously reported. These discrepancies could be understood in terms of differences in assay specificity.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 173-185 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Research Communications in Chemical Pathology and Pharmacology |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 2 |
State | Published - Jun 1975 |