The influence of cholestyramine on the elimination of tenoxicam and piroxicam.

We have studied the influence of multiple oral doses of cholestyramine on the single dose pharmacokinetics of tenoxicam and piroxicam in eight healthy young volunteers. Each subject received on two occasions single intravenous injections of 20 mg tenoxicam and on another two occasions single oral doses of 20 mg piroxicam. Both medications were followed by multiple oral doses of either cholestyramine or plain water (placebo). Compared with placebo cholestyramine accelerated the elimination of both drugs. The average values of half-lives were reduced (tenoxicam: 31.9 h vs 67.4 h; piroxicam: 28.1 h vs 46.8 h) due to increases in clearance. Cholestyramine-mediated enhancement of drug elimination was most pronounced in the subjects with a comparatively low baseline drug clearance. Thus, intersubject variability in clearance was smaller when the drug administrations were followed by the anion-exchange resin. The twofold acceleration of tenoxicam elimination in the present study in man contrasts with a much larger effect (five-fold) seen in experiments with dogs. This points to a much easier access of unchanged tenoxicam to the intestinal lumen in the dogs than in man. Comparing the pharmacokinetics of tenoxicam and piroxicam in the same volunteers revealed a high degree of correlation in clearance and half-lives and similar intersubject variabilities in mean kinetic variables.