Lorcainide kinetics and protein binding in patients with end-stage renal disease.

Lorcainide is a new antiarrhythmic drug undergoing clinical investigation for management of patients with ventricular arrhythmias. In this study we investigated the kinetic profile of lorcainide in nine patients with end-stage renal disease. A single intravenous bolus of 100 mg of the drug was injected while the patients were undergoing hemodialysis or during the off-dialysis period. Renal disease did not alter the kinetic properties of lorcainide; the elimination t1/2 beta during hemodialysis was 8.61 +/- 6.35 h, not significantly different from 7.04 +/- 4.12 h off-dialysis. Serum protein binding of lorcainide was investigated in vitro, and the percent binding of lorcainide to serum proteins of normal volunteers and renal or cardiac patients was not significantly different. These data suggest that renal disease should not alter either the dose or the dosing interval of lorcainide.