Time to steady state following a change in dosing rate

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. A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDICP (Cincinnati, Ohio) Vol. 23; no. 6; p. 468
Main Authors D'Angio, R G, Gwilt, P R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.06.1989
Subjects
Adult
Aged
Computer Simulation
Half-Life
Humans
Male
Mathematics
Pharmacokinetics
Theophylline - pharmacokinetics
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1042-9611
DOI:10.1177/106002808902300607