Six healthy male volunteers received single doses of diltiazem hydrochloride on three occasions separated by at least 10 days. Modes of administration were: 10-minute intravenous infusion of a 20-mg dose; oral administration of 120 mg in solution form; and oral administration of 120 mg as two 60-mg sustained-release tablets. Diltiazem concentrations were measured by electron-capture gas chromatography in multiple plasma samples drawn during the 36 hours after dosage. Following intravenous administration, mean (+/- S.E.) pharmacokinetic variables were: elimination half-life, 11.2 (+/- 2.1) hours; volume of distribution, 11.1 (+/- 3.0) liters/kg; and total clearance, 11.5 (+/- 0.7) ml/min/kg. Oral diltiazem in solution form was rapidly absorbed, with peak plasma levels attained at 38 (+/- 6) minutes after the dose. Absolute systemic availability averaged 44% (+/- 4%). Oral administration of sustained-release tablets yielded, as predicted, slower absorption, with peak plasma concentrations attained at an average of 165 (+/- 22) minutes after dosage. Thus, oral diltiazem is incompletely bioavailable after oral administration, mainly because of first-pass hepatic extraction.

The pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of desmethyldiazepam (DMDZ), formed from its precursor clorazepate (CZP) dipotassium, were assessed in a series of 17 healthy volunteers aged 21--66 years. After a single 20-mg intravenous dose of CZP, mean kinetic variables for DMDZ were: volume of distribution, 1.24 l/kg; elimination half-life, 65 h; total clearance, 0.24 ml/min/kg. Among males, DMDZ half-life tended to be prolonged and clearance reduced with age, but this was not true for females. After oral administration of 20 mg CZP, appearance of DMDZ in the circulation was rapid; the mean peak plasma level was 356 ng/ml, reached an average of 0.9 h after dosage. Based on comparison with IV dosage, systemic availability of DMDZ was complete (100% absorption). Ten of the subjects also received a single 20-mg intramuscular dose of CZP. Mean peak DMDZ levels were 290 ng/ml, reaching an average of 2.7 h after dosage. Systemic availability of DMDZ was complete. Elimination half-life of DMDZ for a given individual was highly replicable from trial to trial regardless of the route of CZP administration.

No abstract