Pharmacokinetics
The propranolol plasma concentrations peaked at 2.0 hours in normal subjects, 1.9 hours in CAH patients, and 1.6 hours in cirrhotic patients, respectively, after drug administration (Figure 1). The Cmax and AUClast of propranolol in patients with cirrhosis were higher than those in patients with CAH. However, there were no statistically significant differences between CAH patients and normal subjects or between cirrhosis patients and normal subjects in both Cmax and AUClast of propranolol (Table 2). The plasma concentrations of 4-OH-propranolol, a major metabolite of propranolol, peaked at 1.3 hours in normal subjects, 1.3 hours in CAH patients, and 1.4 hours in cirrhotic patients, respectively (Figure 2). Consistent with the pharmacokinetics of propranolol, the Cmax and AUClast of 4-OH-propranolol in patients with cirrhosis were significantly lower than those in patients with CAH. However, there were no statistically significant differences between CAH patients and normal subjects or between cirrhosis patients and normal subjects in both Cmax and AUClast of 4-OH-propranolol (Table 3).