title: Steady-state concentrations of amitriptyline and its metabolite nortriptyline in Saudi patients.
abstract: The serum concentrations of amitriptyline (AMI) and its metabolite nortriptyline (NT) were determined in 54 Saudi patients treated for long durations with a daily oral dose (0.111 to 4.167 mg/kg) of AMI. Ten of these patients were concomitantly treated with neuroleptic drugs. The mean (SEM) of the dose-normalized steady-state serum concentration (Css) of AMI in patients who received AMI alone (Group I) was [46.1 (6.5) ng X ml-1/mg X kg-1], with mean NT/AMI Css ratio of 0.962 (0.122). A significantly higher mean of Css of AMI [82.3 (18.8 ng X ml-1/mg X kg-1] was acquired for patients who concomitantly received AMI and neuroleptic drugs (Group II). However, the difference in the mean NT/AMI Css ratio between Group I and Group II [0.929 (0.197)] was not significant. Also, the results of this study indicate that Css of AMI and the NT/AMI Css ratio in Saudi patients treated for depression with AMI alone are not significantly different from those reported for subjects from Western populations.
mesh_terms: D000639:Amitriptyline / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D009661:Nortriptyline / Q000097:blood*; D012529:Saudi Arabia
chemical_list: D000639:Amitriptyline; D009661:Nortriptyline