Sometimes it’s good to have a day off in the middle of the work week. I finished up something that I’ve had on my to-do list for years: a distribution plot for population analysis of Vol dist. The plot compares the 3-sigma normal distribution curve (green line) vs actual data points (red bars). Although it’s helpful to have descriptive statistics, nothing beats a picture:

The population analysis report had to be re-arranged to fit the new plot on the page . I believe it is an easier read now. Here’s a comparison of new vs old:

Other improvements to the population analysis tool include:

• BMI analysis option
• CL vs Kel regression option
• Automatically create/save graphs

While testing all these changes with real-world data I noticed a handful of Vd values in the consult table that were Zero. Further investigation revealed that these were *huge* patients with Vd’s > 100 liters. When I originally set up the APK database format over twenty years ago I did not forsee the U.S. obesity epidemic. Nowadays it is not unusual for us to see patients who are 300, 400, 500+ pounds, a sad commentary on the state of our country’s health. Also, I didn’t realize if the database engine encounters a number exceeding the defined field, it just skips it! It doesn’t flag an error, it just puts in a zero… WTF? Anyway, this update includes a change to the consults table, increasing the width of the Vd field from 4 to 5. This will accommodate patients up to 700 kg. If that limit is exceeded, please stop this planet and let me off.

Enjoy.