Cimetidine disposition in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

Cimetidine disposition was determined in six patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis to ascertain the need for modification of conventional dosing regimens. Blood, dialysis fluid, and urine were collected for 48 hours after administration of a single intravenous dose of cimetidine. The following values were obtained: elimination half-life, 4.3 hours; systemic or total body clearance, 191 +/- 55 ml/min; and dialysis clearance, 4.2 +/- 3.1 ml/min. Approximately 2% of a cimetidine dose is removed by dialysis, indicating that there is no need to adjust the conventional renal failure dosing regimen in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.