Neurotoxicity from Inordinate Valacyclovir Dosage in an Elderly Woman
with Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease
Abstract
Unadjusted doses of valacyclovir can cause neurotoxicity in patients
with chronic kidney disease (CKD). There are no well documented reports
of valacyclovir or acyclovir toxicity providing pre- and post-dialysis
concentrations of acyclovir in the blood, dialysate, and urine of
acutely neurotoxic patients. We report an elderly woman with stage 5 CKD
who developed neurotoxicity after being prescribed standard doses of
valacyclovir and provide measurements of the amount of the drug
eliminated through hemodialysis versus native renal clearance. The
patient’s estimated body-burden of drug before the first session of
dialysis was estimated at 580.3 mg. During the first hemodialysis
session acyclovir plasma concentrations decreased from 8.8 mg/L to 3.2
mg/L (63.6%). Her body-burden of drug before the second session of
hemodialysis was estimated as 131.9 mg. During the 2.5 hours of the
second dialysis session a total of 66.6 mg was eliminated based on
measured dialysate concentrations. Urinary elimination was 17.7 mg over
30 hours. Despite minimal urinary elimination her blood concentration
fell from 8.8 mg/L to 0.88 mg/L with 4.5 hours of hemodialysis.
Hemodialysis appears to be an effective method of eliminating acyclovir,
especially in patients with advanced kidney disease.