Theophylline Glycinate: uses, dosing, side effects & brands

The elimination half-life of theophylline glycinate is about 8.7 hours on average (range roughly 6 to 13 hours) in otherwise healthy non-smoking adults 16-60 years — that is how long the body takes to clear half of a dose. This is the elimination half-life; the label's Table I reports it directly and theophylline follows one-compartment-like kinetics with no clinically relevant longer-lasting active metabolite in adults and it is not a prodrug. The half-life is highly variable and rises markedly in several named populations: elderly (>60 years, normal cardiac/liver/renal function) about 9.8 h (range 1.6-18); liver disease prolongs it substantially - cirrhosis about 32 h (10-56), acute hepatitis about 19 h, cholestasis about 14 h; also longer in acute pulmonary edema (~19 h), sepsis with multi-organ failure (~19 h), and 3rd-trimester pregnancy (~13 h). Because theophylline is cleared by hepatic metabolism, the label ties prolongation to liver dysfunction and age rather than to kidney impairment (renal impairment is not listed as prolonging half-life in adults). The kinetics are non-linear, so half-life increases further at serum concentrations above ~20 mcg/mL. Half-life is shorter in smokers, children, and hyperthyroidism. Half-life is not the same as how long a drug test can detect the drug, and it varies with age, kidney and liver function.

It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run theophylline glycinate against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.

Across the brands we track, theophylline glycinate is currently marketed as elixir, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.

We do not currently list a generic-labelled theophylline glycinate product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.