Amicar (Aminocaproic Acid) Drug Information: Clinical Pharmacology

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May 24, 2012

Amicar

Anemia »

What is anemia?

Anemia is a medical condition in which the red blood cell count or hemoglobin is less than normal. The normal level of hemoglobin is generally different in males and females. For men, anemia is typically defined as hemoglobin level of less than 13.5 gram/100 ml and in women as hemoglobin of less than 12.0 gram/100 ml. These definitions may vary slightly depending on the source and the laboratory reference used.

What causes anemia?

Any process that can disrupt the normal life span of a red blood cell may cause anemia. Normal life span of a red blood cell is typically around 120 days. Red blood cells are made in the bone marrow.

Anemia is caused essentially through two basic pathways. Anemia is caused by either:

a decrease in production of red blood cells or hemoglobin, or
an increase in loss or destruction of red blood cells.

A more common classification of anemia (low hemo...

Read the Anemia article »

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CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY

The fibrinolysis-inhibitory effects of AMICAR (aminocaproic acid) appear to be exerted principally via inhibition of plasminogen activators and to a lesser degree through antiplasmin activity.

In adults, oral absorption appears to be a zero-order process with an absorption rate of 5.2 g/hr. The mean lag time in absorption is 10 minutes. After a single oral dose of 5 g, absorption was complete (F=1). Mean ± SD peak plasma concentrations (164 ± 28 mcg/mL) were reached within 1.2 ± 0.45 hours.

After oral administration, the apparent volume of distribution was estimated to be 23.1 ± 6.6 L (mean ± SD). Correspondingly, the volume of distribution after intravenous administration has been reported to be 30.0 ± 8.2 L. After prolonged administration, AMICAR (aminocaproic acid) has been found to distribute throughout extravascular and intravascular compartments of the body, penetrating human red blood cells as well as other tissue cells.

Renal excretion is the primary route of elimination. Sixty-five percent of the dose is recovered in the urine as unchanged drug and 11% of the dose appears as the metabolite adipic acid. Renal clearance (116 mL/min) approximates endogenous creatinine clearance. The total body clearance is 169 mL/min. The terminal elimination half-life for AMICAR (aminocaproic acid) is approximately 2 hours.

Last reviewed on RxList: 3/11/2009
This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.