Section 1 - Pharmacokinetic Concepts

Introduction

The main focus of this course is the practical application of pharmacokinetic principles in day-to-day pharmacy practice. Therefore, the tutorial will cover only those aspects of basic pharmacokinetic theory which apply to dosing of 1 and 2 compartment drugs. This cursory review is not meant to be a substitute for a course in clinical pharmacokinetics. For more in-depth coverage of this complex subject, please refer to the publications listed in the reference section of this review.

This multi-media tutorial is divided into three sections:

1. Pharmacokinetic concepts
   • The LADME scheme
   • Drug distribution
   • Drug elimination
   • Pharmacokinetic models
   • Therapeutic drug monitoring

2. Applied pharmacokinetics
   • Creatinine clearance
   • Drug regimen design
   • Aminoglycoside pharmacokinetics
   • Aminoglycoside dosing
   • Vancomycin pharmacokinetics
   • Vancomycin dosing
   • Bayesian analysis
   • Generic one-compartment models

3. Pharmacokinetic software
   • Program demonstrations
   • Aminoglycoside case studies
   • Vancomycin case studies

For each topic there is an interactive quiz which reviews the important concepts to be learned.

At the end of the tutorial, a comprehensive "competency exam" may be taken to assess your knowledge of the material. The topic quizzes prepare you for the "final".

Navigating the tutorial

A toolbar displayed at the top and bottom of each page contain icons for navigating through the tutorial. If an icon is "greyed-out" then that action is disabled.

Icon	Action
	Previous section
	Previous topic
	Next topic
	Next section
	Topic quiz
	References

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System requirements

This multi-media tutorial requires a web-browser which is both Java and Javascript-enabled. In plain English, this means that you will need Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher, or Netscape's Navigator 4.06 or higher. Older versions will not work. If you are using an older version of either program, please be aware that you can upgrade them for free.

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Definitions

Let's begin with some definitions of our main subject matter:

• Pharmacokinetics is the study of the time course of the drug concentration in the body, i.e., "what the body does to the drug".
• Pharmacodynamics is the study of the relationship of drug concentration to pharmacologic effects, i.e., "what the drug does to the body".
• Therapeutic drug monitoring is the measurement of the serum level of a drug and the coordination of this serum level with a therapeutic range.
• The therapeutic range is that range of serum drug concentrations which have been shown to be efficacious without causing toxicity in the majority of patients.
• Clinical pharmacokinetics deals with the application of pharmacokinetic principles to the safe and effective therapeutic management of drug dosage in an individual patient.

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Cost effectiveness of a clinical pharmacokinetics service

The additional costs associated with drug-induced nephrotoxicity averages $32,000 per case. Preventing just a few cases of nephrotoxicity per year will pay your salary!

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Section 1 - Pharmacokinetic Concepts

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