Impaired elimination of caffeine in cirrhosis

The effect of cirrhosis on the disposition and elimination of caffeine was examined. Caffeine (250 mg) was administered orally to 15 healthy controls and eight patients with cirrhosis. The elimination half-life was prolonged from 5.2±2.4 hr (mean±sd) in controls to 6.1±1.9 hr in cirrhotics, although this did not reach statistical significance. The plasma clearance, however, was significantly higher (1.4±0.5 ml/min/kg) in controls as compared to cirrhotics (0.9±0.3 ml/min/kg) (P<0.05). The plasma binding of caffeine was also lower in cirrhotics (31.3±1.8% vs 25.5±4.0%, P<0.01). The plasma clearance of unbound caffeine therefore was reduced from 2.0±0.8 ml/min/kg in controls to 1.2±0.4 ml/min/kg (P<0.01) in cirrhotics, demonstrating impaired elimination of caffeine in cirrhosis.