Plasma concentrations of astemizole in patients with terminal renal insufficiency, before, during and after hemodialysis.

Four patients undergoing hemodialysis because of terminal renal insufficiency have taken 10 mg of astemizole on two consecutive days. The elimination was followed for 7 days and was found not to be delayed. During dialysis no decrease of the plasma levels of astemizole and its hydroxylated metabolites were observed. On the contrary, a small nonsignificant increase was found which can be explained by the thickening of the blood after ultrafiltration. It can be concluded that astemizole cannot be eliminated by dialysis because of its high protein binding capacity.