Clinical pharmacokinetics worksheet with answers

Free printable Clinical pharmacokinetics worksheet: 6 problems from easy to exam level, with an answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF.

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1.Easy
110t (h)C (mg/L)6 mg/L3.5 hC = ?

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). Just after an IV dose, the tobramycin level is 6 mg/L. The half-life is 3 h, and the drug is eliminated by first-order kinetics. What is the level C 3.5 h later?

C₀ = 6 mg/Lt½ = 3 ht = 3.5 h
C = mg/L
2.Easy
Vd = 0.25 L/kgC = 6 mg/LLD = ?80 kg

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient who weighs 80 kg needs a loading dose of gentamicin to reach a level of 6 mg/L straight away. The volume of distribution is 0.25 L/kg. Find the loading dose LD in mg.

80 kgVd = 0.25 L/kgC = 6 mg/L
LD = mg
3.Medium
110t (h)C (mg/L)C₀ = 6 mg/Lt½ = 2 hC₀/2

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient receives an IV bolus of 110 mg of tobramycin. The level back-extrapolated to time zero is 6 mg/L and the half-life is 2 h. Find the clearance CL in L/h.

D = 110 mgC₀ = 6 mg/Lt½ = 2 h
CL = L/h
4.Medium
110t (h)C (mg/L)C₀ = 7 mg/Lt½ = 3.5 hC₀/2

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient receives an IV bolus of 140 mg of gentamicin. The level back-extrapolated to time zero is 7 mg/L and the half-life is 3.5 h. Find the volume of distribution Vd.

D = 140 mgC₀ = 7 mg/Lt½ = 3.5 h
Vd = L
5.Hard
t (h)C (mg/L)Css​18 hC = ?

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A theophylline infusion runs at 37.5 mg/h with no loading dose. The patient's clearance is 2.5 L/h and the half-life is 8 h. What is the level C after 18 h?

R = 37.5 mg/hCL = 2.5 L/ht½ = 8 ht = 18 h
C = mg/L
6.Hard
0.1110100t (h)C (mg/L)Cpeak​ = 10τ = ?Ctrough​ = 1

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient's tobramycin half-life is 2.5 h. The target is a peak of 10 mg/L and a trough of 1 mg/L. Assuming rapid IV doses and first-order elimination, what dosing interval τ lets the level fall from the peak to the trough? Round to one decimal place.

t½ = 2.5 hCpeak = 10 mg/LCtrough = 1 mg/L
τ = h

Answer key

  1. 1. C = 2.673 mg/L
  2. 2. LD = 120 mg
  3. 3. CL = 6.354 L/h
  4. 4. Vd = 20 L
  5. 5. C = 11.85 mg/L
  6. 6. τ = 8.3 h

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