Assessment of liver function in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignant neoplasm in children. Antineoplastic treatment alone or with coexisting chronic viral hepatitis may permanently impair liver function. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of ALL and chronic viral hepatitis on the pharmacokinetics of lidocaine and its metabolite MEGX.

We enrolled 17 children and young adults with ALL in remission. Mean remission time was 61 +/- 30 months. Eleven patients were also infected with chronic viral hepatitis type B and/or type C. The control group comprised 12 healthy children. Lidocaine and MEGX pharmacokinetics were studied after intravenous administration of 1 mg/kg lidocaine. Serum samples were obtained at 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, and 360 min. from drug administration and were processed for separation by high-performance liquid chromatography. Statistical analysis was performed with Student's t-test.

Elevated serum concentrations of MEGX 30 min. after lidocaine administration were observed in patients with ALL and hepatitis. The remaining pharmacokinetic parameters of lidocaine and MEGX did not differ significantly between groups. Our results suggest that pharmacokinetics of lidocaine and MEGX remain essentialy unaltered in ALL with coexisting chronic hepatitis.