Summary
The effects of posture and sleep on the pharmacokinetics of paracetamol (acetaminophen) 500mg and its metabolites were studied in 8 healthy men. The mean residence times for paracetamol or its metabolites were significantly altered by change in posture or by sleep, whereas other pharmacokinetic parameters were unchanged. The change in mean residence time is consistent with a faster absorption of paracetamol during ambulation. The present data suggest that the proposed posture-related changes in volume of distribution do not exist, and that there is no pharmacokinetic basis for a headache being relieved by taking paracetamol and lying down.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Clements JA, Heading RC, Nimmo WS, Prescott LF. Kinetics of acetaminophen absorption and gastric emptying in man. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 24: 429–431, 1980
Cummings AJ, King ML, Martin BK. A kinetic study of drug elimination: the excretion of paracetamol and its metabolites in man. British Journal of Pharmacology and Chemotherapy 29: 150–157, 1967
Divoll M, Abernathy DR, Ameer B, Greenblatt DJ. Acetaminophen kinetics in the elderly. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 31: 151–156, 1982
Douglas AP, Savage RL, Rawlins MD. Paracetamol (acetaminophen) kinetics in patients with Gilbert’s Syndrome. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 13: 209–212, 1978
Ferguson GA, Statistical analysis in psychology and education. 4th ed.. chap 19. McGraw-Hill Kogakusha, Tokyo, 1976
Forfar JC, Pottage A, Toft AD, Irvine WJ, Clements JA, et al. Paracetamol pharmacokinetics in thyroid disease. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 18: 269–273, 1980
Forrest J AH, Adrianenssens P, Finlayson N DC, Prescott LF. Paracetamol metabolism in chronic liver disease. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 15: 427–431, 1979
Gibaldi M, Perrier D, Pharmacokinetics. 2nd ed.. chap. 11. Marcel Dckker, New York, 1982
Heading RC, Nimmo J, Prescott LF, Tothill P. The dependence of paracetamol absorption on the rate of gastric emptying. British Journal of Pharmacology 47: 415–421, 1973
Knox JH, Jurand J. Determination of paracetamol and its metabolites in urine by high-performance liquid chromatography using reversed-phased bonded supports. Journal of Chromatography 142: 651–670. 1977
Levy G Effect of bedrest on distribution and elimination of drugs. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 56: 928–929, 1967
Levy G, Yamada H. Drug biotransformation interactions in man III: acetaminophen and salicvlamide. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 60: 215–221, 1971
Malan J, Moncrieff J, Bosch E. Chronopharmacokinetics of paracetamol in normal subjects. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 19: 843–845, 1985
Mattock GL, McGilveray IJ. The effect of food intake and sleep on the absorption of acetaminophen. Revue Canadienne de Biologie 32: 77–84, 1973
McGilveray IJ, Mattock GL. Some factors affecting the absorption of paracetamol. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 24:615–619, 1972
Miners JO, Adams JF, Birkett DJ. A simple HPLC assay for urinary paracetamol metabolites and its use to characterize the C3H mouse as a model for paracetamol metabolism studies. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology 11: 209–217, 1984
Moore Ede MC. Circadian rhythms of drug effectiveness and toxicity. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 14: 925–935, 1973
Nimmo WS, Prescott LF. The influence of posture on paracetamol absorption. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 5: 348–349, 1978
Perucca E, Richens A. Paracetamol disposition in normal subjects and in patients treated with antiepileptic drugs. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 7: 201–206, 1979
Prescott LF. Pathological and physiological factors affecting drug absorption, distribution, elimination and response in men. In Gillette & Mitchell (Eds) Concepts in biochemical pharmacology, pp. 234–257, Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1975
Prescott LF. Kinetics and metabolism of paracetamol and phen-acetin. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 10: 2915–2985, 1980
Rawlins MD, Henderson DB, Hijab AR. Pharmacokinetics of paracetamol (acetaminophen) after intravenous and oral administration. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 11: 283–286, 1977
Reinberg A, Smolensky MH. Circadian changes of drug disposition in man. Clinical Pharmacokinetics 7: 401–420, 1982
Riches HRC. Streptomycin reactions — relation to exercise. Lancet 1: 540–541, 1954
Riegelman S, Collier P. The application of statistical moment theory to the evaluation of in vivo dissolution time and absorption time. Journal of Pharmacokinetics and Biopharma-ceutics 8: 509–534, 1980
Roberts MS, Denton MJ. Effect of posture and sleep on pharmacokinetics 1: amoxycillin. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 18: 175–183, 1980
Rowland M, Tozer TN, Clinical pharmacokinetics: concepts and applications, chap. 10. Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia, 1980
Rumble RH, Roberts MS, Scott AR. The effect of posture on the pharmacokinetics of intravenous benzyl penicillin. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 30: 731–734, 1986
Rumble RH, Roberts MS, Scott AR. The effects of posture on the pharmacokinetics of intramuscular benzyl penicillin. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 33: 629–635, 1988
Schmidt H, Roholt K. Penicillin serum concentrations in relation to exercise. Acta Pathologica et Microbiologica Scandinavica 68: 396–400, 1966
Shively CA, Vesell ES. Temporal variations in acetaminophen and phenacetin half-life in man. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 18: 413–424, 1975
Swartz RD, Sidell FR. Effects of heat and exercise on the elimination of pralidoxime in man. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 14: 83–89, 1973
Wagner J, Fundamentals of clinical pharmacokinetics, chap. 11. Drug Intelligence Publications, Hamilton, 1975
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rumble, R.H., Roberts, M.S. & Denton, M.J. Effects of Posture and Sleep on the Pharmacokinetics of Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) and Its Metabolites. Clin Pharmacokinet 20, 167–173 (1991). https://doi.org/10.2165/00003088-199120020-00007
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00003088-199120020-00007