Pharmacokinetics is defined as the kinetics of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (KADME) and their relationship with the pharmacologic, therapeutic or toxicological response in man and animals. The applications of pharmacokinetic principles in the safe and effective management of individual patient are called as clinical pharmacokinetics. During the drug development process, large numbers of patients are tested to determine optimum dosing regimens, which are then recommended by the manufacturer to produce the desired pharmacologic response in the majority of the anticipated patient population. However, intra- and inter-individual variations will frequently result in either a sub-therapeutic (drug concentration below the MEC) or toxic response (drug concentrations above the minimum toxic concentration, MTC), which may then require adjustment to the dosing regimen. Clinical pharmacokinetics is the application of pharmacokinetic methods to drug therapy. Clinical pharmacokinetics involves a multidisciplinary approach to individually optimized dosing strategies based on the patient’s disease state and patient-specific considerations.
This topic describes: Plasma Drug Concentration-Time Profile, Peak Plasma Concentration, Time of Peak Concentration, Area Under the Curve, Pharmacodynamic parameters, Minimum Effective Concentration (MEC), Maximum Safe Concentration (MSC), Onset of Action, Onset Time, Duration of Action, Intensity of Action, Therapeutic Range, Rates of reaction, Introduction to COMPARTMENT MODELS.