Parenteral diuretics form the cornerstone of decongestion in heart failure. However, parenteral therapy routinely requires emergency room or inpatient care. A novel buffered furosemide formulation with neutral pH was developed to offer "hospital-strength" diuresis for outpatient use, including self-administration at home. Subcutaneous infusion using a biphasic delivery profile resulted in complete bioavailability (99.65%) and equivalent diuresis when compared with intravenous administration. Subcutaneous administration of buffered furosemide was well tolerated with no evidence of any drug-induced skin reactions. Subcutaneous infusion of buffered furosemide in the outpatient setting or home may help to reduce the burden of heart failure.
Keywords: ANOVA, analysis of variance; AUC, area under the curve; AUClast, last measurable plasma concentration; AUC∞, plasma concentration to infinity; CI, confidence interval; Cmax, peak plasma concentration; HF, heart failure; IV, intravenous; LSM, least squares mean; SC, subcutaneous; diuresis; furosemide; heart failure; pharmacokinetics; subcutaneous; t½, terminal phase elimination half-life.