Dose- and time-dependent kinetics of the renal excretion of nitrofurantoin in the rabbit.

A pharmacokinetic study on the renal excretion of nitrofurantoin was carried out in rabbits at doses ranging from 0.5 to 15 mg/kg. With increasing dose, nonlinear kinetics were observed in the tubular secretion, which appeared to show dose and time dependence. The disposition of nitrofurantoin after intravenous injection is well described by a one-compartment model with simultaneous first-order nonrenal elimination and renal elimination, which consists of glomerular filtration, active tubular secretion conforming to the Michaelis-Menten equation, and reabsorption clearance by nonionic diffusion. Plasma and urinary excretion data after intravenous injection of nitrofurantoin were fitted to this model. When the Michaelis constant was loosely restricted at a constant value, the maximum velocity decreased with increasing dose of nitrofurantoin. However, the Michaelis constant apparently increased with increasing dose when the maximum velocity was loosely restricted at a constant value. Although the results of this fitting suggested that the former case may occur in the active tubular secretory system, the latter case could not be completely eliminated because of limited data. The implications of these results are discussed on the basis of the available published data.