Estimation of Pharmacokinetic Parameters Based on the Patient-Adjusted Population Data

Authors

Reza Mehvar, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2006

Abstract

Population pharmacokinetic data, adjusted for patient characteristics, are recommended for the design of initial dosage regimens of some therapeutically monitored drugs in patients for whom patient-specific data are not available. However, despite widespread use by clinicians such as pharmacists, a clear understanding of the principles of population pharmacokinetics, including data collection and analysis and its limitations, is often lacking. This article describes the 2 main methods of obtaining population kinetic data, namely the two-stage method and nonlinear mixed effect model, and their applications to the pharmacokinetic-based design of dosage regimens. Additionally, some numerical examples are provided to assist the reader in understanding the material. The author uses these tools in a pharmacokinetics course taught to PharmD students.

Comments

This article was originally published in American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, volume 70, issue 5, in 2006.