Interspecies comparisons of plasma half-life of trimethoprim in relation to body mass.

The relationship between body mass and plasma half-life of trimethoprim was studied in 10 different species of animals and man using published data. Log half-life was positively and significantly correlated to log body mass based on individual measurements in herbivorous animals (n = 23, P < 0.01), in herbivorous animals+pigs (n = 29, P < 0.01), in ungulates (n = 27, P < 0.01), in ruminants (n = 16, P < 0.01) and in non-herbivorous mammals, except pigs (n = 6, P < 0.05). The correlation was described by the allometric equations: t 1/2 beta = 27 W0.26 in herbivorous animals and t 1/2 beta = 125 W0.32 in non-herbivorous animals except pigs.