A comparison of alphaprodine and meperidine pharmacokinetics.
We have developed a gas-liquid chromatographic analysis for measuring plasma alphaprodine. The analysis is sufficiently sensitive for studying therapeutic-dose pharmacokinetics in man. Single intravenous bolus injections of either alphaprodine or meperidine were given to volunteer subjects. Plasma concentration data were fitted to a biexpoential equation and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated. Consistent with alphaprodine's shorter clinical duration compared to meperidine, we found that plasma levels of alphaprodine decline at a more rapid rate. Plasma clearances for the two narcotics are nearly identical (1.04 l./kg/min for alphaprodine and 1.01 l./kg/min for meperidine). The apparent volume of distribution for alphaprodine is smaller than for meperidine (1.90 l./kg for alphaprodine and 3.37 l./kg for meperidine).
D000328:Adult; D000522:Alphaprodine / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D008614:Meperidine / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*
D000522:Alphaprodine; D008614:Meperidine