Improved Formula for Predicting Hemodialyzability of Intravenous and Oral Drugs.

BACKGROUND: The rate of drug removal by hemodialysis needs to be considered when designing drug dosage regimens for patients on hemodialysis. We previously developed a simplified equation to predict the removal rates of intravenously administered drugs by hemodialysis. Here, we addressed shortcomings of this equation and developed a more accurate equation that can also predict the removal rates of orally administered drugs. METHODS: A total of 70 drugs with known pharmacokinetic and physical parameters and drug removal rates that were measured during hemodialysis in clinical cases were randomly assigned at a 4:1 ratio to a training data group or a test data group. A prediction equation was developed by performing stepwise multiple regression analyses using the training data (i.e., the removal rate by hemodialysis) as the objective variable and pharmacokinetic parameters as the explanatory variables. The equation was validated using the test data. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses revealed that molecular weight (MW), protein binding rate, and fraction excreted unchanged in urine relative to the volume of distribution (Vd) were independently correlated with the drug clearance rate (adjusted coefficient of determination, 0.83; p = 2.2e-16). The following equation was obtained: drug removal rate by hemodialysis (%) = -17.32 × [log (MW)] - 0.39 × [protein binding rate (%)] + 0.06 × [fraction excreted unchanged in urine (%)/Vd (L/kg)] + 83.34. Validation of the equation using the test data showed a very high correlation between predicted and measured reduction rate (R = 0.93, p = 1.87e-6). Mean error was -3.34 (95% confidence interval: -10.03, 3.35), mean absolute error was 9.59, and root mean square error was 16.48. CONCLUSION: The modified equation derived in this study using pharmacokinetic and physical parameters as variables precisely predicted the removal rates of both intravenous and oral drugs by hemodialysis.

Simple Formula for Predicting Drug Removal Rates During Hemodialysis.

The present study sought to derive a simple formula for predicting the drug removal rates during hemodialysis. We examined the relationship between drug removal rates during hemodialysis and the molecular weights or pharmacokinetic parameters of injectable drugs (N = 90) obtained from pharmaceutical interview forms in Japan. Stepwise multiple regression analysis with the removal rate by hemodialysis as the objective variable adjusted for molecular weight or pharmacokinetic parameters as explanatory variables, showed that the logarithm of molecular weight (B = -18.87), the protein binding rate (B = -0.40), and the fraction of the unchanged drug excreted into the urine/volume of distribution (B = 0.05) were significantly and independently associated with drug removal rate by hemodialysis (α = 90.78, adjusted R2 = 0.64, P = 2.2e-16 ). Our data demonstrated that molecular weight, protein binding rate, and volume of distribution were important factors affecting drug removal during hemodialysis, and that our simple regression equation could be used to predict the drug removal rate during hemodialysis.