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Active ingredient: Calcium Acetate - Brands, Medical Use, Clinical Data

Brands, Medical Use, Clinical Data

Drug Category

  • Antihyperphosphatemics

Dosage Forms

  • Capsule
  • Drops
  • Liquid
  • Powder for solution
  • Solution
  • Tablet

Brands / Synonyms

Acetic acid, calcium salt; Brown acetate; Brown acetate of lime; Calac; Calcium acetate - dried; Calcium acetate hydrate; Calcium acetate monohydrate; Calcium diacetate; Gray acetate; Gray acetate of lime; Grey acetate; Lime acetate; Lime pyrolignite; Niacet calcium acetate tech; Phoslo; Phoslo Gelcaps; Procalamine; Pyrolignite of lime; Sorbo-calcian; Sorbo-calcion; Teltozan; Vinegar salts

Indications

Used to treat hyperphosphatemia (too much phosphate in the blood) in patients with kidney disease.

Pharmacology

Patients with advanced renal insufficiency (creatinine clearance less than 30 ml/min) exhibit phosphate retention and some degree of hyperphosphatemia. The retention of phosphate plays a pivotal role in causing secondary hyperparathyroidism associated with osteodystrophy, and soft-tissue calcification. The mechanism by which phosphate retention leads to hyperparathyroidism is not clearly delineated. Therapeutic efforts directed toward the control of hyperphosphatemia include reduction in the dietary intake of phosphate, inhibition of absorption of phosphate in the intestine with phosphate binders, and removal of phosphate from the body by more efficient methods of dialysis. The rate of removal of phosphate by dietary manipulation or by dialysis is insufficient. Dialysis patients absorb 40% to 80% of dietary phosphorus. Therefore, the fraction of dietary phosphate absorbed from the diet needs to be reduced by using phosphate binders in most renal failure patients on maintenance dialysis. Calcium acetate when taken with meals combines with dietary phosphate to form insoluble calcium phosphate which is excreted in the feces. Maintenance of serum phosphorus below 6.0 mg/dl is generally considered as a clinically acceptable outcome of treatment with phosphate binders. Calcium acetate is highly soluble at neutral pH, making the calcium readily available for binding to phosphate in the proximal small intestine.

Mechanism of Action

Calcium acetate works by binding with the phosphate in the food you eat, so that it is eliminated from the body without being absorbed.

Absorption

40% is absorbed in the fasting state and approximately 30% is absorbed in the nonfasting state following oral administration.

Toxicity

Oral, rat: LD50 = 4280 mg/kg. Symptoms of overdose include mild hypercalcemia (constipation; loss of appetite; nausea and vomiting), and severe hypercalcemia (confusion; full or partial loss of consciousness; incoherent speech).

Biotrnasformation / Drug Metabolism

Not Available

Contraindications

Contraindicated in hypercalcemia (too much calcium in the blood) as calcium acetate may make this condition worse.

Drug Interactions

Concomitant use with other calcium-containing medicines (including antacids) may cause too much calcium in the blood or urine, which may increase the chance of side effects. Using calcium acetate with digitalis glycosides (heart medicine) may cause hypercalcemia (too much calcium in the blood), which could increase the chance of developing an irregular heartbeat.

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