[Pharmacokinetics of Teolin 300 tablets and Teotard 350 capsules in asthma patients]

Pharmacokinetics of tablets Teolin 300 (TT) and capsules Teotard 350 (TC) was studied in 7 asthma patients. Serum theophylline concentrations (SCT) were measured in 2-h intervals over 2 consecutive days for each theophylline formulation. A randomized, crossover design was used. In 12-h one dose of TT was absorbed 89.76 +/- 32.76% (means +/- SD) and TC 83.76 +/- 49.48%; between them there were statistically no differences. Amplitudes of SCT (AMP) were in the range 0.31 to 2.7 and mean 24-h SCT in the range 19.8 to 119.3 mumol/L. AMP were reproducible only to TT (r = 0.97, p less than 0.001). Fourier's harmonic analysis applied to mean SCT disclosed statistically significant 12-h oscillations only for TT (p less than 0.05). Continuous therapy with slow-release theophylline should always be monitored with measurements of SCT which should be interpreted by pharmacokinetics data of applied sustained theophylline formulation.