title: The influence of urinary pH on the elimination of mexiletine.
abstract: 1 The plasma elimination half-life of mexiletine was measured in four subjects when the urine was rendered (a) acidic and (b) alkaline. 2 Urinary acidification (pH 5.0) was associated with a plasma elimination half-life of 2.8 h and 57.5% of the intravenous dose was excreted in the urine within 48 hours. When the urine was alkaline (pH 8.0) the half-life increased to 8.6 h with negligible amounts of drug appearing in the urine. 3 Urinary pH varies widely in cardiac patients and should be controlled or monitored to provide better therapeutic precision with mexiletine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kiddie
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kaye
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Shaw