Objective: Our objective was to examine the interaction between fluvoxamine
and tolbutamide to confirm that fluvoxamine inhibits CYP2C9,
Methods: The study was carried out as an open, randomized, crossover design
with 14 healthy participants. In period A, all volunteers took 500 mg of t
olbutamide orally, In period B, the volunteers were randomly assigned to on
e of two groups, Each group took either 150 mg or 75 mg of fluvoxamine a da
y for 5 days (day -3 to day 2), The groups then took 500 mg of tolbutamide
as a single dose (day 0), In both periods, blood and urine were sampled at
regular intervals. Plasma was analyzed for tolbutamide, and urine was analy
zed for tolbutamide and its two metabolites, 4-hydroxytolbutamide and carbo
xytolbutamide by means of HPLC.
Results: During treatment with fluvoxamine, there was a statistically signi
ficant decrease in the median of the total clearance of tolbutamide, from 8
45 mL/h to 688 mL/h, among the volunteers who received 75 mg/d, There was a
reduction that reached borderline statistical significance in the group th
at received 150 mg/d of tolbutamide. The clearance by means of 4-hydroxytol
butamide and carboxytolbutamide was significantly reduced in both groups (i
e, from 901 mL/h to 318 mL/h in the group that received 150 mg of tolbutami
de per day and from 723 mL/h to 457 mL/h in the group that received 75 mg o
f tolbutamide per day). Thus there was a tendency toward a more pronounced
inhibition of the 4-hydroxylation during treatment with 150 mg/d of fluvoxa
mine compared with 75 mg/d, but the difference was not statistically signif
icant,
Conclusion: Fluvoxamine is a moderate inhibitor of CYP2C9 in vivo.