Effect of the H2-Receptor Antagonist Cimetidine,on the Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of the H1-Receptor Antagonists Hydroxyzine and Cetirizine in Rabbits

The effects of coadministration of the H₂-receptor antagonist cimetidine on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the H₁ receptor antagonists hydroxyzine and cetirizine were studied in rabbits. A single dose of hydroxyzine, 10 mg (Experiment A), or cetirizine, 10 mg (Experiment B), was given intravenously on three occasions: 2 weeks before cimetidine administration, after cimetidine, 100 mg/kg, had been given every 12 hr for 1 week, and 2 weeks after the cimetidine was discontinued. Serum concentrations of hydroxyzine and cetirizine, the active metabolite of hydroxyzine arising in vivo (Experiment A), or cetirizine (Experiment B) were measured by HPLC. The pharmacologic effects of hydroxyzine and cetirizine were monitored by measuring the suppression of histamine-induced wheals, using an IBM-PC and digitizer. The hydroxyzine and cetrizine half-life and AUG₀ values were significantly increased and the systemic clearance rates were significantly decreased in the presence of cimetidine. Similar results were obtained when cetirizine was administered de novo. Wheal suppression produced by hydroxyzine or cetirizine was increased and prolonged in the presence of cimetidine. The synergism observed between hydroxyzine or cetirizine and cimetidine in suppression of the histamine-induced cutaneous response may be due to a pharmacokinetic interaction.