Exam 1 IV Bolus Flashcards
What is pharmacokinetics?
the study of the process by which a drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted by the body (what the body does to the drug!)
Where is the major site of drug absorption?
the small intestine where the drug is in formulation
Where is the major site of drug metabolism?
liver
Where is the major site of drug distribution?
the systemic circulation where drug is bound to proteins or is free and could be distributed in other tissues as well
Where is the major site of drug excretion?
kidney
If a drug is lipophilic, what will it tend to bind to?
proteins such as albumin
What do we measure when we study PK?
drug concentration in the blood
What is the optimal drug therapy?
the determination of optimal dosage regimen because if concentration is too high, may cause toxicity and if the concentration is too low, there may not be any pharmacologic effect
What does the stereotypical graph of plasma drug concentration v time look like?
is downwards linear line
What is an IV bolus?
a rapid injection that ensures the entire dose enters the systemic circulation immediately → if drug goes directly into the vein, it can go to the heart and then travel throughout systemic circulation
What are the two major drug elimination pathways?
liver and kidney
What is kel?
the slope of the line of a plasma drug concentration v time graph
A larger kel value means what in terms of elimination?
larger kel = faster elimination
What should we assume about the one compartment model?
the body acts like a single homogenous compartment and that the drug rapidly distributed uniformly in it → drug distribution occurs as soon as drug is given to the patient
What else do we assume about the one compartment model?
- the drug is in rapid equilibrium between the blood and the tissues
- changes in the plasma concentration of drug will result in proportional changes in tissue drug levels
- drug concentration in the compartment is the same as plasma drug concentration
Elimination of the drug in a one compartment model follows what process?
first order process → the elimination rate is proportional to the concentration (or amount) of the drug
What is the difference between zero order elimination and first order elimination?
zero order kinetics follow a constant elimination rate that is independent of the drug concentration while first order kinetics follow an elimination rate that is dependent on drug concentration
What are the equations associated with first order kinetics?
dA/dt = -kel*A (where A is drug amount in the body and dA/dt is elimination rate) A = A0*e^-kel*t (where A0 is the drug amount at time 0, t is time, and kel is the elimination rate constant)
What is the elimination rate constant (kel)?
it is a proportionality constant relating rate of elimination and the amount of drug in the body → is a drug specific property and has units of /time such as /min or /h
What is volume of distribution (Vd)?
it is the size of the compartment which is estimated based on plasma drug concentration → a drug specific property and has units of volume like mL or L
Drug concentration in the compartment is equal to what?
plasma drug concentration
The amount of drug in the body (A) is equal to what?
volume of distribution (Vd) multiplied by plasma drug concentration (Cp)