[Latin American regional reference materials for porcine heparin and bovine heparin]. / Materiales regionales latinoamericanos de referencia de heparina porcina y heparina bovina.

In agreement with the Regional Programme of Reference Materials of the Panamerican Health Organization the Instituto Nacional de Farmacología y Bromatología of Buenos Aires designed a study for the calibration of a Reference Material for Heparin, porcine, mucosal and a Reference Material for Heparin, bovine, mucosal. The assay methods used in this study were those described in the United States Pharmacopeia XXI Ed and British Pharmacopoeia 1980, Addendum 1983. The overall combined potency estimates of both heparin in preparations relative to 4th Int.St. was 1633.83 UI/ampoule (95% confidence limits 1609.70-1657.96 UI/ampoule) for porcine heparin and 1332.31 UI/ampoule (95% confidence limits, 1302.31-1361.77 UI/ampoule) for bovine heparin. The assigned unitage was 1630 UI/ampoule for the porcine Reference Material and 1330 UI/ampoule for the bovine Reference Material.

Pharmacokinetics of Dextran-70 in patients with cirrhosis and ascites undergoing therapeutic paracentesis.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Dextran-70 is frequently used as a plasma expander in patients with cirrhosis treated with large-volume paracentesis to prevent post-paracentesis hypovolemia, which is thought to develop after 24 h following the procedure. However, there are no studies on Dextran-70 pharmacokinetics in cirrhosis. METHODS: Nine patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and tense ascites treated with a 5-1 paracentesis were given 500 ml of Dextran-70. Blood samples to measure the plasma concentration of dextran were obtained 15 and 30 min, 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h and 2 and 6 days after the end of the infusion. Nine healthy volunteers were studied in identical fashion after infusion of 100 ml of Dextran-70. The plasma concentration of dextran was determined by the anthrone method. A bicompartmental model was used to analyze the pharmacokinetic parameters. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between patients with cirrhosis and controls in the volume of distribution (7.7 +/- 0.6 vs. 7.3 +/- 1.21), half-life of the first and second component of plasma disappearance (2.96 +/- 0.69 and 80.3 5.9 h in patients with cirrhosis vs 2.82 +/- 0.69 and 67.1 +/- 10.7 h in controls). CONCLUSIONS: The pharmacokinetics of Dextran-70 in patients with cirrhosis and ascites after large-volume paracentesis is similar to that in controls. This may explain why Dextran-70 is less effective than albumin in preventing paracentesis-induced hypovolemia, which starts after most Dextran fraction has disappeared from plasma.