 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||||
Research Articles |
Drugs administered at fixed intervals or by continuous infusion will accumulate in the body until steady state is achieved. The time to a given percentage of the eventual steady-state concentration has previously been considered to be dependent only on the elimination half-life. This is incorrect. Although the rate of drug accumulation in the body is dependent only on the elimination half-life, the time to a given percentage of steady state is dependent on both the elimination half-life of the drug and the initial concentration. This paper presents the mathematical proof of this concept, computer simulations demonstrating the use of these equations, and nomograms for use in clinical practice. The use of this method allows serum drug concentrations to be evaluated earlier than previously predicted after changes in the dosing rate.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  R. Mehvar Dependence of Time to Reach Steady-State on the Length of Dosage Interval Ann. Pharmacother., October 1, 2008; 42(10): 1518 - 1519. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
