PHARMACOKINETICS OF FAMOTIDINE IN THE ELDERLY

Using high-performance liquid chromatography, the plasma kinetics of famotidine were studied after oral administration of 40 mg to nine elderly patients (hospitalized for diseases unrelated to the stomach or duodenum). Mean half-life, clearance, and volume of distribution were ten hours, 0.29 L/hr/kg, and 3.95 L/kg, respectively. Clearance and the volume of distribution were computed on the assumption that the oral bioavailability of famotidine was 0.43. Mean volume of distribution and mean terminal half-life were higher than the mean values reported in previously published studies on the kinetics of famotidine.