Prediction of steady-state serum theophylline concentration in children by first-order and zero-order absorption models.

We estimated the pharmacokinetic characteristics of theophylline in children with bronchial asthma after multiple oral dosing of Theo-Dur, in order to determine whether the absorption of the drug is best described by a zero-order absorption kinetic model (0-order model) or a first-order absorption kinetic model (1-order model). Thirteen children with bronchial asthma were evaluated in this study. Each patient received Theo-Dur twice daily at 12-hour intervals. Blood samples were taken at 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 hours after the administration; plasma theophylline concentration was determined by the fluorescence polarization immuno assay method. Pharmacokinetic parameters for each patient were estimated by a one-compartment open model with 0-order or 1-order absorption and 1-order elimination rate constants. The regression curve predicted using the 0-order model fitted well to the observed value. In contrast, the use of the 1-order model was overestimated considerably in the absorption phase the precision of the prediction using the 0-order model was better than the use of the 1-order model. This study suggests that the 0-order model gave better estimated pharmacokinetic parameters when applied to Theo-Dur than did the 1-order model in children.