Clinical Applications of Pharmacokinetics Flashcards
For IV infusion, rate of entry (R0, in units of mL/min) into the body is constant with
Time
This means that absorption by IV infusion is said to follow
Zero-order kinetics
The rate of exit, or loss from the body, however, is said to follow
First-order kinetics
In fact, the rate of loss is always equal to the
Total body clearance
Upon starting an IV infusion, the plasma concentration rises until the rate of loss equals the rate of
Input
Thereafter, the plasma concentration reaches a steady state in which drug in = drug out. The steady-state plasma concentration is denoted
Css
The achievable steady state plasma concentration depends solely on the
Infusion rate
Not achieved any faster if the infusion rate is doubled
Plateau
A general rule of thumb is that in order to approximate the steady state condition, we need how many half-lives to elapse?
4
Directly proportional to the infusion rate (R0) and inversely proportional to the total body clearance
Css
The rate of approach to steady state is independent of R0, but rather depends solely on
kd or t 1/2
What are 2 salient considerations for a discontinuous drug regimen?
Half-life and therapeutic index
A commonly employed intravenous regimen is to start with a loading dose that is
2X effective dose of drug
Then, follow with a maintenance dose that is equal to the effective dose every
Half-life
The maintenance dose replaces the amount of drug lost within the
Dosing interval (t*)