Single oral dose pharmacokinetics of clomipramine in depressed patients

The pharmacokinetics of a single oral dose of clomipramine were examined in a group of depressed patients, 8 female and 2 male with a mean age of 51 years (range 21-78). Their mean clomipramine half-life was 36 hours and mean plasma clomipramine clearance 73 litres per hour, with a wide range in each case. These results differ from those previously reported in volunteer subjects, who had shorter clomipramine half-lives. Pharmacokinetic studies should therefore be performed in patients undergoing treatment, rather than healthy volunteers.