Toxicokinetics of metformin-associated lactic acidosis with continuous renal replacement therapy

A 70-year-old diabetic male patient with a baseline serum creatinine of 1.4 mg/dL presented with nausea and vomiting. He was diagnosed with metformin-associated lactic acidosis and acute kidney injury. He was managed with continuous veno-venous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF). By measuring metformin concentration at different time intervals, we calculated the apparent volume of distribution of metformin at 34.7 L. The decline in serum metformin followed single-compartment first-order kinetics with an elimination rate constant of 0.0418/h and a serum half-life of 16.5 h; no metformin rebound was seen after discontinuation of CVVHDF. Using the previously calculated volume of distribution we calculated the expected serum metformin concentration 25 h post CVVHDF to be 3.0–3.7 μg/mL. The measured serum metformin of 3.4 μg/ml fell within the predicted range. During CVVHDF, dialyzer metformin clearance approximates 88.7 % of dialyzer urea clearance and 90.1 % of dialyzer creatinine clearance.