Summary
Rectal administration of sulphasalazine to patients with ulcerative colitis has recently been shown to have similar therapeutic activity but fewer side effects than oral treatment. The present study is a comparison of the pharmacokinetics of sulphasalazine (SASP) and its metabolite sulphapyridine (SP) after rectal and oral administration of SASP to 6 patients with ulcerative colitis. The areas under the concentration-time curves (AUC) and the maximum concentrations (Cmax) of SASP and SP were significantly lower after rectal than oral administration of SASP (p<0.05). These findings support the view that the lower frequency of side effects after rectal administration of SASP may result from the lower plasma levels of SASP and SP.
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Allgayer, H., Kruis, W., Eisenburg, J. et al. Comparative pharmacokinetics of sulphasalazine and sulphapyridine after rectal and oral administration to patients with ulcerative colitis. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 26, 275–277 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00630300
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00630300