Impairment of drug elimination in patients with liver disease.

An attempt has been made to investigate drug elimination in patients with liver disease. Antipyrine was chosen as a model drug. The patients were divided into three groups depending upon clinical, biochemical, radiologic and histologic findings; (1) mild (Idiopathic portal hypertension, extrahepatic portal vein obstruction and Gilbert's syndrome); (2) moderate (Budd-Chiari syndrome and amoebic liver abscess); (3) severe (acute hepatitis, chronic active hepatitis and cirrhosis). A prolongation in antipyrine half-life (t1/2) was observed in 108 patients with liver disease (24.59 +/- 1.72 h) as compared to 12 controls (11.63 +/- 0.86 h). Similarly, metabolic clearance rate was decreased in all liver disorders. Among liver function tests, antipyrine t1/2 showed a significant correlation with serum albumin and prothrombin time index. After phenobarbitone administration, antipyrine clearance studied in 37 patients showed a significant decrease in t1/2 and an increase in MCR. Antipyrine t1/2 in 26 patients after recovery was comparable to those of controls.