Clinical pharmacology of loop diuretics in health and disease

There are differences in metabolism and excretion of the loop diuretics which extrapolate to differences in pharmacokinetic behaviour in different disease states. For example, furosemide is eliminated in equal portions by renal and non-renal routes; the non-renal route involves primarily glucuronidation. Both renal and non-renal pathways are impaired during renal insufficiency, such that the elimination half-life is prolonged considerably in this disease state. In contrast, there seems to be little change in disposition in patients with liver disease. Bumetanide and torasemide have non-renal elimination pathways via the hepatic cytochrome system. In patients with renal insufficiency these non-renal pathways of elimination are left intact so that there is little prolongation of half-life in such patients. In contrast, in patients with liver disease or with congestive hepatopathy, there is impairment in non-renal elimination so that relatively more drug appears in the urine. With all loop diuretics, response is governed by the amount of drug appearing in the urine. By assessing the relationship between urinary excretion rates of the diuretic and sodium excretion rate, a maximal response which amounts to a fractional excretion of sodium of approximately 20% can be defined. Thus it is possible to define a maximal dose as the amount of drug necessary to attain a fractional excretion of sodium of 20%. Studies in different disease states using escalating doses can thereby use this relationship to define a dose above which little is to be gained in terms of therapeutic efficacy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)