Drug protein binding and the nephrotic syndrome.

A reduction in plasma albumin concentration, as seen in patients with the nephrotic syndrome, is usually associated with a decrease in plasma protein binding of highly bound drugs. Therefore, the fraction of the unbound drug increases, but the absolute free concentration remains essentially unchanged due to a compensatory reduction in the steady state total plasma concentration. With phenytoin, protein binding and plasma albumin concentration are closely related, so that the degree of binding can be estimated without specific binding techniques. To be able to correctly interprete plasma levels the degree of protein binding should be known, since a reduced total concentration may be fully effective, if the free drug fraction is increased in hypoalbuminaemic patients. Although the mean steady state plasma concentration of highly bound drugs is not affected in the nephrotic syndrome, a greater fluctuation of the unbound level is observed between doses, offering a possible explanation for the increased incidence of toxicity in hypoalbuminaemic patients. As a consequence, shorter dosing intervals of these drugs seems to be advisable, rather than a reduction in the total daily dose. Reduced protein binding is accompanied by an increase in the total plasma clearance which is a function of the elimination rate constant and the volume of distribution.