[Pharmacokinetic profiles of lopinavir (LPV) in Chinese HIV-infected patients].

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the pharmacokinetic profiles of lopinavir (LPV) in Chinese HIV-infected patients. METHODS:A total of 16 patients were enrolled in the LPV pharmacokinetic study. Blood samples were collected before LPV intake and 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0, 12.0 h after administration. Serum level of LPV was determined by the developed high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The pharmacokinetic profiles were assessed by WinNonlin software. RESULTS:The non-compartment model pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters were as follows: the peak time of LPV (T(max)) (3.88 ± 0.23)h, maximum plasma concentration (C(max)) (10.36 ± 3.42) mg/L, minimum plasma concentration (C(min)) (2.18 ± 0.34) mg/L, the 24 h area under plasma-concentration-time curve (AUC0-24) (116.22 ± 15.68) mg · h · L⁻¹, half life (T1/2) (4.5 ± 0.13) h, and clearance rate (CL/F) (3.44 ± 1.34) L/h respectively. CONCLUSIONS:The pharmacokinetic profiles of LPV in Chinese HIV-1 infected patients demonstrate lower C(min) than those of reported studies, while other parameters are similar. Patients should be educated for compliance based on the narrow gap between C(min) and minimum effect concentration.