title: Pharmacokinetics of esmolol in anesthetized patients receiving chronic beta blocker therapy.
abstract: The pharmacokinetics of esmolol, a new, ultra-short-acting beta adrenergic blocking drug, were studied in 19 patients undergoing coronary artery surgery. Esmolol was administered as a continuous infusion, and blood concentrations were measured at intervals up to 40 min after discontinuation of the infusion. In all patients, a bi-exponential equation best described the esmolol concentration--time curve. Half-lives for the distribution and elimination phases were 1.34 +/- 0.77 min and 9.9 +/- 4.55 min (mean +/- SD), respectively. The mean values for V beta and V epsilon were 1.9 +/- 1.24 l X kg-1 and 0.41 +/- 0.31 l X kg-1, respectively, and the total clearance was 128 +/- 41 ml X kg-1 X min-1.
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000378:metabolism*; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D007700:Kinetics; D011412:Propanolamines / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D011412:Propanolamines; C036604:esmolol