Intravenous and subcutaneous administration of desmopressin (DDAVP) to hemophiliacs: pharmacokinetics and factor VIII responses.

When desmopressin (DDAVP) is given to mild and moderate hemophiliacs intravenously (i. v.) or subcutaneously (s.c.), there is a very large between-patient variability for peak levels of factor VIII coagulant activity (VIII :C). To evaluate whether or not between-patient variability is related to DDAVP levels achieved in plasma, we measured drug levels in 14 hemophilic volunteers (VIII: C 2 to 31 U/dL) who were randomly given 0.3 μg/Kg of i. v. or s. c. DDAVP and crossed-over to the other treatment after an interval of 15–30 days. Peak DDAVP levels (Cmax) were higher for i.v. DDAVP (p