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 Cmax than the control subjects due to a change in systemic availability. An alternative explanation would be that both the distribution volume and the clearance had changed. The mean half-life in the patients with chronic renal failure was similar to that in the healthy subjects.