THE PHARMACOKINETICS OF NIFURTIMOX IN CHRONIC-RENAL-FAILURE

The pharmacokinetics of nifurtimox. a drug used in the treatment of Trypanosoma cruzi infections, has been studied in seven patients with chronic renal failure undergoing haemodialysis, and in seven healthy subjects. Each subject took nifurtimox 15 mg.kg-1 orally and blood samples were obtained for 10 h after administration. Nifurtimox in serum was analyzed by HPLC. The patients with chronic renal failure had a higher C(max) than the control subjects due to a change in systemic availability. An alternative explanation would bc that both thc distribution volume and thc clearance had changed. The mean half-life in the patients with chronic renal failure was similar to that in the healthy subjects.