The effect of sparkling water on the systemic pharmacokinetics of paracetamol in older adults.

Paracetamol absorption kinetics show considerable variability in older adults, complicating the development of effective dosing regimens in the advanced-age population. In previous research, sparkling water has been shown to influence absorption-related processes. This study aimed to apply these findings to older adults and investigate the impact of sparkling water on absorption-related variability and early exposure. To this end, fourteen volunteers, with a median age of 72.5, were enrolled in a small-scale, randomised, controlled clinical trial with a cross-over design. A single immediate-release 500 mg paracetamol tablet was administered with sparkling or still water. Venous blood samples were collected regularly over 8 hours and analysed using HPLC-UV. Reduced variability of absorption-related parameters and a trend towards higher early exposure were observed in the sparkling water group, as demonstrated by a 1.6-fold increased AUC _0-30min , a 2-fold reduced geometric coefficient of variation (GCV) for AUC _0-30min , and a reduced median [interquartile range] T _max of 25.0 [20.0-30.0] min compared to 30.0 [25.0-45.0] min. Based on our findings, sparkling water as a real-life dosing condition might improve paracetamol absorption kinetics and early exposure in the advanced-age population.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: [Patrick Augustijns and Fritz Harder report that financial support was provided by Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks program (No. 956146). Tim Vanuytsel reports financial support was provided by the Flanders Research Foundation (FWO Vlaanderen) (1830522N). The other authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.].
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