Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 1984-1
Pharmacokinetics of Dextropropoxyphene and Nordextropropoxyphene in Elderly Hospital Patients after Single and Multiple Doses of Distalgesic. Preliminary Analysis of Results
1 The plasma elimination half-life of dextropropoxyphene and its metabolite nordextropropoxyphene was investigated in seven elderly hospital patients after the administration of both single and multiple doses of Distalgesic.
2 The mean elimination half-life of dextropropoxyphene after multiple dosing was 35.7 h (range 24.0-50.6 h) and the mean half-life of nordextropropoxyphene was 53.3 h (range 25.1-76.3 h).
3 The half-lives of both dextropropoxyphene and nordextropropoxyphene are much longer than those reported by other investigators in younger subjects.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anonymous (1983). Distalgesic and its equivalents: time for action. Drug Ther. Bull., 21,1-3.
2.
Crome, P. (1982). Drug compliance in the elderly. In Psychopharmacology of Old Age, pp. 55-64. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
3.
Fulton, B., James, O. & Rawlins, M.D. (1979). The influence of age on the pharmacokinetics of paracetamol. Br. J. Clin. Pharmacol., 7, 418P.
4.
Gram, L.F., SCHOU, J., WAY, W. L., HELTBERG, J. & BODIN, N. O. (1979). d-Propoxyphene kinetics after single oral and intravenous doses in man. Clin. Pharmacol. Ther., 26, 473-482.
5.
Melander, A., Bodin, N.O., Danielson, K., Gustafsson, B., Haglund, G. & Westerlund, D. (1978). Absorption and elimination of d-propoxyphene, acetyl salicylic acid, and phenazone in a combination tablet (Doleron). Comparison between young and elderly subjects. Acta Med. Scand., 203,121-124.
