Pharmacokinetics of torasemide and its metabolites in healthy controls and in chronic renal failure.

The pharmacokinetics of 20 mg torasemide i.v. has been studied in 7 healthy controls and 9 patients with varying degrees of renal impairment. Torasemide had a t1/2 of about 4h which was independent of kidney function, as the nonrenal clearance of torasemide was 3-times greater than its renal clearance. The active metabolite M 1 and the main metabolite M 5 were accumulated in chronic renal failure. In contrast to liver function, therefore, kidney failure does not have an important effect on the pharmacokinetics of torasemide.