Clinical Pharmacology in Renal Disease Flashcards
If renal function is impaired there is a rapid build up of what?
- Active drug
- Toxic or active metabolites
There is a buid up of drugs when renal function is impaired, when is this a problem?
When the drug has a low therapeutic index and high toxicity
What are examples of drugs with a low therapeutic index?
- Gentamicin may cause renal or ototoxicity
- Digoxin may cause arrhythmia, nausea or death
- Lithium renal toxicity and death
- Tacrolimus renal and CNS toxicity
What makes hospital patients particularly vulnerable to toxic effects of drugs when renal function is impaired?
This is a worry because patients in hospital are:
- Sick
- Volume depleted
- Hypotensive
- Prescribed a large number of potentially reno-toxic agents
- The above factors interact to generate de novo renal impairment or worsen pre existing renal impairment
Who is drug induced nephrotoxicity common in?
- Infants, young children and elderly
- Patients with underlying renal dysfunction or cardiovascular disease
What diseases related to the kidneys can drugs cause?
- Acute renal injury
- Intra-renal obstruction
- Interstitial nephritis
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Acid-base and fluid electrolytes disorders
What are the mechanisms of renal excretion of drugs?
- Glomerular filtration
- Passive tubular reabsorption
- Active tubular secretion
Where are all drugs and metabolites filtered?
All drugs and metabolites are filtered at glomerulus
How does renal impairment impact the half life of drugs?
Renal impairment will prolong half-life of all drugs and their metabolites cleared by this route
Prolonged half-life means:
- Care when using drugs with a low therapeutic index in the presence of renal impairment
What impact does renal impairment have on pharmacokinetics?
- Reduction in GFR reduces clearance of drugs by kidney resulting in accumulation
- Protein binding also reduced
- More unbound drug
- Net result is you must
- Reduce dosage
- Increase dose interval
- TDM monitor blood levels for toxic drugs like gentamicin, lithium, digoxin and vancomycin
What must you do to counter the effects of drugs on pharmcokinetics in renal impairment?
- Reduce dosage
- Increase dose interval
- TDM monitor blood levels for toxic drugs like gentamicin, lithium, digoxin and vancomycin
What effect does renal impairment have on pharmacodynamics?
- Renal disease alters action of drugs on tissues
- BBB becomes permeable
- Brain becomes more sensitive to tranquillisers, sedatives and opiates
- Circulatory volume may be reduced making the patient sensitive to antihypertensive agents like ACEIs or a-blockers
- May be increased tendency to bleed so beware of warfarin or NSAIDs
In patients with renal disease are direct nephrotoxic actions of drugs synergistic or antagonitic?
In patients with renal disease direct nephrotoxic actions of drugs are synergistic:
- Gentamicin toxicity may be unmasked when used in conjunction with furosemide or lithium
What can renal impairment lead to in relation to drugs?
- Dramatic alterations in pharmacokinetics
- Increased half life
- Build up of drug or metabolites
- Decrease in protein binding, so more free drug available
- Alteration in pharmacodynamics
- Increased sensitivity to pharmacological action
- Increased sensitivity to toxicity and ADRs
- Increased sensitivity to the toxic effects of combined therapy
What alterations occur in pharmacokinetics due to renal impairment?
- Increased half life
- Build up of drug or metabolites
- Decrease in protein binding, so more free drug available
What alterations occur in pharmacodynamics due to renal impairment?
- Increased sensitivity to pharmacological action
- Increased sensitivity to toxicity and ADRs
What can we do to support people with renal impairment to safely use drugs?
Need to know drugs:
- Drugs which may be used safely with lowered GFR
- And which drugs have a narrow therapeutic index
Realise importance of:
- Reducing loading dose and maintenance dose
- And increasing the dosing interval
- TDM and monitoring renal function and blood pressure during course of treatment
Impaired renal function and prescribing:
- Consider
- Risk/benefit ratio
- Severity of possible side effects
- Severity of toxicity
- Availability of TDM
- Do
- Reduce the dose of drug
- Change the dosing frequency
- Change the drugs
- If a patients suffers from renal impairment we should use drugs which
- Have a high therapeutic index and
- Are metabolised by the liver with the production of non-toxic metabolites
- If a patients suffers from renal impairment we should use drugs which
What should we consider when prescibing drugs to people with renal impairment?
- Risk/benefit ratio
- Severity of possible side effects
- Severity of toxicity
- Availability of TDM
What should we do when prescribing drugs to people when renal impairment?
- Reduce the dose of drug
- Change the dosing frequency
- Change the drugs
- If a patients suffers from renal impairment we should use drugs which
- Have a high therapeutic index and
- Are metabolised by the liver with the production of non-toxic metabolites
- If a patients suffers from renal impairment we should use drugs which
Why are the kidneys particularly vulnerable to drugs that cause renal damage?
- Kidney is particularly vulnerable to drugs that cause renal damage
- Any drug in the blood will eventually reach kidneys
- May potentially cause drug-induced renal failure
- If drug is primarily cleared by kidney, will become increasingly concentrated as it moves from the glomerulus and along the renal tubules
- Concentrated drug exposes the kidney tissue to far greater drug concentration per surface area
Renal damage causes significant morbidity and mortality, what are examples?
- Acute kidney injury
- Acute tubular necrosis
- Chronic kidney disease
- Inflammatory disorders