title: Whole-blood single-dose kinetics of chloroquine and desethylchloroquine in Africans.
abstract: The whole-blood kinetics of chloroquine and desethylchloroquine were studied in five healthy Ghanaian subjects. Chloroquine was rapidly absorbed, and peak concentrations were reached within 2 h. The drug disappeared from blood in a multiexponential manner, and the mean terminal half-life from day 7 to day 28 was 13 days. Desethylchloroquine concentrations were generally higher than those of chloroquine after 48 h. Renal clearance accounted for 65% of the apparent total clearance of chloroquine. The estimated mean total urinary recovery of the drug and its desethyl metabolite was 80% of the dose. Whole-blood concentrations of chloroquine offer some advantages compared with plasma concentrations, as this drug concentrates in the formed elements, and special precautions must be taken to obtain representative plasma concentrations.
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D002738:Chloroquine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine; D005869:Ghana; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D002738:Chloroquine; C007278:desethylchloroquine