Elimination rate ofN-acetylprocainamide after a single intravenous dose of procainamide hydrochloride in man

Abstract

Equations were derived which made it possible to determine the elimination rate of N -acetylprocainamide from urinary data after intravenous administration of procainamide hydrochloride. A single dose of 500 mg of the drug was infused intravenously in four healthy subjects. On the basis of those equations, the formation rate of the metabolite could be calculated presuming that all rate processes were occurring by first-order processes. However, close examination of the excretion rate data appears to support the contention that the formation or excretion of N -acetylprocainamide may be occurring by a saturable process.