British journal of clinical pharmacology
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Br J Clin Pharmacol · Sep 1993
Clinical TrialBioavailability and absorption kinetics of nicotine following application of a transdermal system.
1. The absolute bioavailability and absorption kinetics of nicotine were investigated in 13 healthy adult male smokers following single and multiple applications of a nicotine transdermal system (NTS), designed to release nicotine at an approximate rate of 1.5 mg h-1 over 24 h. The absorption of nicotine from the single NTS application was calculated with reference to a simultaneous intravenous infusion (i.v.) of deuterium-labelled nicotine. 2. ⋯ No significant changes were seen in the pharmacokinetics of nicotine between single and multiple applications of NTS. 8. As expected from the higher total plasma nicotine concentrations, the incidence of adverse effects was higher following simultaneous intravenous and transdermal administration of nicotine. The most frequently reported systemic side effects were nervousness and headache: mild itching was the most frequent topical effect.