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.

New worksheetPractise online with hints

For teachers: free to print, copy and use in class. Every new worksheet has new values and its own answer key. A link to ExamProblems on your course page is appreciated.

Name: ____________________   Date: ____________

1.Easy
110100t (h)C (mg/L)40 mg/L48 hC = ?

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). Just after an IV dose, the vancomycin level is 40 mg/L. The half-life is 12 h, and the drug is eliminated by first-order kinetics. What is the level C 48 h later?

C₀ = 40 mg/Lt½ = 12 ht = 48 h
C = mg/L
2.Easy
Vd = 0.5 L/kgC = 12 mg/LLD = ?74 kg

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient who weighs 74 kg needs a loading dose of theophylline to reach a level of 12 mg/L straight away. The volume of distribution is 0.5 L/kg. Find the loading dose LD in mg.

74 kgVd = 0.5 L/kgC = 12 mg/L
LD = mg
3.Medium
110t (h)C (mg/L)C₀ = 6 mg/Lt½ = 3 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 6 mg/L and the half-life is 3 h. Find the clearance CL in L/h.

D = 140 mgC₀ = 6 mg/Lt½ = 3 h
CL = L/h
4.Medium
110t (h)C (mg/L)C₀ = 8 mg/Lt½ = 2 hC₀/2

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient receives an IV bolus of 170 mg of gentamicin. The level back-extrapolated to time zero is 8 mg/L and the half-life is 2 h. Find the clearance CL in L/h.

D = 170 mgC₀ = 8 mg/Lt½ = 2 h
CL = L/h
5.Hard
67 kg61 · manSCr 3.1 mg/dLfe​ = 0.6D = ? mg

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 61-year-old man weighs 67 kg and has a serum creatinine of 3.1 mg/dL (274 µmol/L). Estimate the creatinine clearance with Cockcroft–Gault: CrCl (mL/min) = (140 − age) × weight (kg)/(72 × SCr in mg/dL), × 0.85 for women. The usual ciprofloxacin dose is 500 mg for a creatinine clearance of 120 mL/min, and a fraction fe = 0.6 of the drug is excreted unchanged by the kidneys. Using the Dettli dose fraction Q = 1 − fe·(1 − CrCl/normal CrCl), find the adjusted dose D. Round to the nearest whole number.

61 years67 kgmanSCr = 3.1 mg/dL500 mgfe = 0.6CrCl normal 120 mL/min
D = mg
6.Hard
88 kg68 · womanSCr 2.5 mg/dLfe​ = 0.6D = ? mg

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 68-year-old woman weighs 88 kg and has a serum creatinine of 2.5 mg/dL (221 µmol/L). Estimate the creatinine clearance with Cockcroft–Gault: CrCl (mL/min) = (140 − age) × weight (kg)/(72 × SCr in mg/dL), × 0.85 for women. The usual ciprofloxacin dose is 500 mg for a creatinine clearance of 100 mL/min, and a fraction fe = 0.6 of the drug is excreted unchanged by the kidneys. Using the Dettli dose fraction Q = 1 − fe·(1 − CrCl/normal CrCl), find the adjusted dose D. Round to the nearest whole number.

68 years88 kgwomanSCr = 2.5 mg/dL500 mgfe = 0.6CrCl normal 100 mL/min
D = mg

Answer key

  1. 1. C = 2.5 mg/L
  2. 2. LD = 444 mg
  3. 3. CL = 5.391 L/h
  4. 4. CL = 7.365 L/h
  5. 5. D = 259 mg
  6. 6. D = 290 mg

Full step-by-step solutions: practise this topic on examproblems.com.