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Effect of Erythromycin on Ethanol's Pharmacokinetics and Perception of Intoxication
Author(s) -
Min David I.,
Noormohamed Saleem E.,
Flanigan Michael J.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
pharmacotherapy: the journal of human pharmacology and drug therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.227
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1875-9114
pISSN - 0277-0008
DOI - 10.1002/j.1875-9114.1995.tb04350.x
Subject(s) - placebo , pharmacokinetics , crossover study , erythromycin , visual analogue scale , ethanol , area under the curve , anesthesia , medicine , chemistry , pharmacology , antibiotics , biochemistry , alternative medicine , pathology
Study Objective . To determine the effect of erythromycin on ethanol's pharmacokinetics and perception of intoxication. Design . Double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled, crossover study. Setting . A clinical research center. Participants . Ten healthy volunteers. Interventions . Erythromycin base 500 mg or identical placebo was administered 3 times/day for 7 days. On day 8, ethanol 0.8 g/kg was administered by mouth concurrently with erythromycin or placebo. A 2‐week washout period was allowed between each treatment arm. Measurements and Main Results . Twelve blood samples were obtained over a 12‐hour period to determine ethanol concentrations. Perception of intoxication was determined at each time point using a 10‐cm visual analog scale. Ethanol concentrations were determined using a gas chromatographic method. Mean ± SD ethanol pharmacokinetics for erythromycin versus placebo were time to peak ethanol plasma concentrations 1.1 ± 0.4 hours versus 1.3 ± 0.3 hours, peak ethanol concentrations 118 ± 18 mg/dl versus 114 ± 27 mg/dl, ethanol oral clearance (CL/F) 2.9 ± 0.8 ml/min/kg versus 3.4 ± 2.2 ml/min/kg, and area under the curve 481 ± 104 mg·hour/dl versus 465 ± 132 mg·hour/dl (p>0.05). The blood ethanol concentrations and perception of intoxication scores on a visual analog scale were well correlated (r 2 =0.78, p<0.01). Mean ± SD areas under the effect versus time curve were 35.1 ± 20.7 cm/hour and 31.5 ± 18.2 cm/hour for erythromycin and placebo, respectively (p>0.05). Conclusion . Oral erythromycin base 1500 mg/day compared with placebo does not alter ethanol's pharmacokinetics or perception of intoxication in healthy volunteers.