Pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution changes of adriamycin and adriamycinol after intravenous administration of adriamycin to uranyl nitrate-induced acute renal failure rats.

The pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution changes of adriamycin (ADM) and adriamycinol were investigated after intravenous (i.v.) administration of ADM, 16 mg/kg, to the control and the uranyl nitrate-induced acute renal failure (U-ARF) rats. After 1 min i.v. infusion of ADM, apparent 'constant' plasma levels of ADM were maintained from 2 to 12 hr in the U-ARF rats, whereas the levels were detected for only up to 3 hr in the control rats. Adriamycinol was detected in plasma for up to 180 min for the U-ARF rats, but, it was detected for only up to 1 min for the control rats with significantly higher levels in the U-ARF rats. The mean amount of both ADM and adriamycinol excreted in urine were significantly smaller in the U-ARF rats than those in the control rats due to the decreased kidney function in the U-ARF rats. In tissue distribution studies, the amount of ADM obtained from the heart, liver, spleen, small intestine, large intestine, and fat were significantly higher in the U-ARF rats than those in the control rats. The tissue to plasma ratios of the liver, spleen, large intestine, and fat also increased significantly in the U-ARF rats than those in the control rats. The amount of adriamycinol obtained from the heart, spleen, and liver were significantly higher in the U-ARF rats. All 7 control rats survived over 48 hr whereas 6 out of 8 U-ARF rats died between 36-48 hr after i.v. administration of ADM, suggesting that the i.v. doses of ADM in acute renal failure patients may need modification if the present rat data could be extrapolated to humans.