Abstract
Summary
Dialytic removal of alpha-methyldopa (Aldomet) has been investigated in chronic uremic patients undergoing either hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, using 14C tracer techniques. A mean of 60% of the estimated absorbed radioactivity was recovered in the dialysate of 3 patients undergoing 4 hemodialyses; the mean relative dialysance of radioactivity from alpha-methyldopa and its products was 0.34. A similar amount of radioactivity was recovered in the dialysate of 2 patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis.
The antihypertensive action of administered alpha-methyldopa and its major metabolite (a mono-O-sulfate conjugate) may be diminished by hemodialysis. This effect could contribute to the reemergence of hypertension occasionally observed in the postdialysis period in patients receiving alpha-methyldopa therapy.
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