Pharmacokinetics of acetaminophen in Hong Kong Chinese subjects

The pharmacokinetics of acetaminophen have been well studied in different p opulations, especially in Caucasians. However, limited studies on acetamino phen pharmacokinetics have been conducted in the native Chinese and few suc h data have been reported in the English language literature. Previous publ ished studies suggested that environmental and genetic factors may cause in ter-individual difference in acetaminophen disposition, thus we investigate d the pharmacokinetics of acetaminophen in Hong Kong Chinese subjects. A si ngle 500 mg oral dose of acetaminophen was administered to 12 healthy male Chinese subjects under fasting conditions. Multiple blood samples were obta ined after drug administration. Plasma acetaminophen concentrations were de termined using HPLC, and its main pharmacokinetic parameters were generated . In comparison to other published data, acetaminophen half-life was consid erably longer (15-62%), and oral clearance was lower (16-56%) in Hong Kong Chinese as compared to Australian Chinese, Caucasians (USA, UK, Australia), and subjects from Pakistan, Denmark, Spain and South Africa. Similarities however were found in the pharmacokinetic parameters between Hong Kong Chin ese and Mainland Chinese subjects. The observed pharmacokinetic parameters of acetaminophen in Hong Kong Chinese subjects may be different from other ethnic populations. Further studies are needed to verify this hypothesis. ( C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.