[Drug metabolism in patients with liver disease (author's transl)].

Patients with acute hepatitis and patients with compensated or decompensated cirrhosis of the liver have a decreased plasma clearance of hexobarbital. This however could not been demonstrated in patients with intra- or extrahepatic cholestasis and patients with primary biliary cirrhosis of the liver. The plasma clearance of methohexital, - a high clearance drug - is not changed in the same way. Also there is no evidence as yet, that patients with liver disease and without a collateral portal circulation do have an increased bioavailability of oral high clearance drugs.