Half life of Alprazolam in hepatic insufficient patients

Alprazolam is a triazolobenzodiazepine which is primarily metabolized by the liver. To see its half life in hepatic insufficient patients tab. Alprazolam in a dose of 0.25 mg, B.D. was given orally to 15 such patients and 5 normal subjects taken as control. Drug was given for a period of 21 days to both groups. Blood samples were drawn at day 7 and 21. There was no remarkable change in half life on day 7 and 21, among control group. Same results were seen among hepatic group on both days but half life increased to about double on day 7 and 21, when compared to control ones. Thus, it was concluded that in hepatic insufficient patients, half life increases significantly due to alteration in hepatic biotransformation mechanism