Pharmacokinetics of Sematilide in Renal Failure

A randomized, two-period, two-treatment study was conducted to investigate the effect of renal impairment on the pharmacokinetics of the Class III antiarrhythmic sematilide HCI. The pharmacokinetic-pharmacologic effect relationship and tolerability of sematilide HCI were also studied. The study included 22 subjects : 6 healthy volunteers and 16 patients with various degrees of renal impairment, including functionally anephric patients on intermittent hemodialysis. Separated by a 14-day washout period, the subjects received a constant rate intravenous infusion of 40 mg sematilide HCI over 30 minutes and a tablet containing 100 mg of the drug. The functionally anephric patients were studied during and off dialysis after intravenous and oral administration of the drug, respectively. Blood and urine samples were collected at defined times up to 48 hours and 72 hours, respectively, after administration. Sematilide concentrations in plasma, urine, and dialysate were measured by a validated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with ultraviolet detection. The pharmacokinetic data analysis used a compartment model independent approach. The heart rate-corrected Lead II QT interval was recorded as a pharmacologic endpoint. Subjective symptoms, cardiovascular parameters, routine serum chemistry, and hematology and urinalysis parameters were measured to assess tolerability. Mean renal clearance after intravenous and oral administration was reduced in patients with severe renal impairment. Statistically significant linear correlations existed between total clearance of sematilide and creatinine clearance for all subjects who could be evaluated after both intravenous and oral administration. Steady-state volume of distribution, absolute bioavailability, and nonrenal clearance of sematilide were independent of renal function. The mean dialysis clearance was 98 mL/min, indicating effective removal of the drug by hemodialysis. In accord with the drug's Class III pharmacologic activity, the heart rate corrected Lead II QT intervals were prolonged in all subjects after intravenous and oral administration of the drug. The pharmacologic effect to plasma concentration relationship in renal patients and in healthy subjects was comparable. Based on the experimentally determined linear relationship between total clearance of sematilide and creatinine clearance, modified dose regimens for sematilide HCI in patients with renal impairment and functionally anephric patients off hemodialysis were developed.