Effect of ether anaesthesia on pharmacokinetics of N-(2 hydroxy ethyl)2-phenyl ethyl carbamate: inhibition of its enterohepatic circulation.

1 The effect of the ether anaesthesia on the plasma half-life of N-(2 hydroxy ethyl) 2-phenyl ethyl carbamate has been studied in rats.2 The plasma half-life of the carbamate was considerably shorter in animals anaesthetized with ether prior to drug administration than in control rats.3 The longer plasma half-life of the carbamate in control animals was shown to be due to enterohepatic circulation.4 Inhibition of this phenomenon by ether was responsible for the shorter plasma half-life of the carbamate in animals anaesthetized with this agent before drug administration.5 The possible mechanisms by which the ether-induced effect is brought about are discussed.