Transsynovial distribution and protein binding of pirazolac in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Following a washout period of 7 days, twenty-one patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and 3 from osteo-arthritis, who all required articular puncture were given a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug pirazolac 450 mg b.d. for 7 days. After discontinuation of the treatment the subjects were divided into 4 groups each of 6 patients. The non protein bound fraction of pirazolac in synovial fluid (0.86%) was significantly higher than that in plasma (0.53%). The average pirazolac concentration in plasma within the dosing interval fluctuated between 30.9 micrograms/ml and 59 micrograms/ml, and in synovial fluid between 16.6 micrograms/ml and 29.9 micrograms/ml. The half-life of pirazolac calculated from the measured and interpolated data from all patients was 30.9 h in plasma and 66.2 h in synovial fluid. The absolute free concentrations in plasma and synovial fluid (approx. 250 ng/ml) were in the range of the IC50-values for inhibition of cyclooxygenase in mouse peritoneal macrophages.