Abstract
Patients on CAPD often have hyperlipidemia -a known risk factor for morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease. We have defined the pharmacokinetic properties of bezafibrate, a new hypolipidemic agent, in CAPD patients. Its serum half-life was prolonged approximately 10 times that of normal subjects, and less than 2% of an oral 200 mg dose appears in the dialysate after 48 hours. If indicated, an appropriate dose for the treatment of hyperlipidemia in the CAPD population would be 200 mg bezafibrate every third day.
Cardiovascular disease remains one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality among patients with end stage renal disease (I). Hyperlipidemia, a known risk factor in the normal population, may be involved in the progression of arterial disease in such patients (2). The hyperlipidemia associated with CAPD is related to the absorption of large quantities of glucose during dialysis (3), and attempts to treat the hyperlipidemia by low-dose intraperitoneal insulin (4) and dietary carbohydrate restriction (3), have met with only limited success. Bezafibrate, a new hypolipidemic agent, is effective in reducing elevated serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels in various hyperlipidemic conditions (5). However, because its pharmacokinetic properties are altered in patients with renal impairment (6), it is necessary to adjust the dose to compensate for the significant proportion of the drug that is excreted in the urine.
This study was done to define the pharmacokinetics of bezafibrate in patients receiving CAPD in order to establish a safe dosage.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.