[Cimetidine and creatinine clearance]

Abstract

Cimetidine lowers secretion of creatinine in the renal tubuli in healthy individuals and persons with chronic renal disease. The conditions in patients with renal transplants have hitherto been unknown. The renal clearance of endogenic creatinine (CKrea) was investigated prior to and after an intravenous bolus injektion of cimetidine (5 mg/kg) in nine patients with renal transplants. The rate of glomerular filtration (GFR) was determined by clearance investigation of 125I-thalamate (CTh). CKrea fell 29% from 65 ml/min (median) to 46 ml/min (p less than 0.01), whereas GFR remained unchanged. The fractionated creatinine clearance (CKrea/CTh) fell therefore from 1.43 (median) to 1.03 (p less than 0.01). It is concluded that cimetidine reduces creatinine secretion in patients with renal transplants and this should be borne in mind when the function of the graft is assessed solely with CKrea.