Acebutolol disposition after intravenous administration.

The disposition of acebutolol has been studied following intravenous doses of 0.25 to 1.0 mg/kg in 9 healthy subjects using a specific chromatographic assay to determine concentrations of drug in blood. The mean blood clearance was 6.55 ml/min/kg and the mean renal clearance, 2.68 ml/min/kg. Blood clearance was found to have a coefficient of variation of 14% for the group, to be independent of dose, and to remain essentially constant over approximately 3 wk. The fraction of the dose excreted in the urine unchanged was 0.405. Data were fitted to an equation for a two-compartment model. The mean fast and slow half-lives were 6.08 and 156.8 min, respectively. The volume of the central compartment was 0.223 L/kg, and the volume of distribution at steady-state was 1.165 L/kg. The fraction of acebutolol unbound to plasma proteins was 0.743 and was independent of drug concentration in the range examined. Data obtained from 15-min infusions were used to predict plateau blood concentrations with good accuracy during an 8-hr dosage regimen.