Hepatic elimination of femoxetine in pig during intravenous infusion.

Hepatic elimination of femoxetine was studied in six anaesthetized pigs during intravenous administration. Femoxetine was given into a jugular vein as a constant infusion of 0.4-7.2 mg/min. in five pigs and as a bolus injection of 383 mg in one pig. The hepatic extraction was high (92-98%) corresponding to earlier findings of 91-99% when femoxetine was infused into the portal vein in pig or given orally to man. The urinary excretion was low, less than 5% of the dose, and the estimated extrahepatic metabolism was not significantly different from zero.