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)8 mg/L4.5 hC = ?

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). Just after an IV dose, the tobramycin level is 8 mg/L. The half-life is 2 h, and the drug is eliminated by first-order kinetics. What is the level C 4.5 h later?

C₀ = 8 mg/Lt½ = 2 ht = 4.5 h
C = mg/L
2.Easy
110100t (h)CC₀t½ = ?C₀/2

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). The elimination rate constant of theophylline in a patient is 0.077 h⁻¹. Find the half-life t½.

k = 0.077 h⁻¹
t½ = h
3.Medium
VCss​ = 3 mg/LR = ? mg/minCL = 650 mL/min

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient has a lidocaine clearance of 650 mL/min. What infusion rate R in mg/min keeps the steady-state level at 3 mg/L?

CL = 650 mL/minCss = 3 mg/L
R = mg/min
4.Medium
110100t (h)C (mg/L)1 h30 mg/L13 h11.9 mg/L

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). After an IV dose of vancomycin, the level is 30 mg/L at 1 h and 11.9 mg/L at 13 h. Assume first-order elimination. Find the half-life t½.

C1 = 30 mg/L (1 h)C2 = 11.9 mg/L (13 h)
t½ = h
5.Hard
t (h)C (mg/L)Css​14 hC = ?

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A vancomycin infusion runs at 100 mg/h with no loading dose. The patient's clearance is 4 L/h and the half-life is 8 h. What is the level C after 14 h?

R = 100 mg/hCL = 4 L/ht½ = 8 ht = 14 h
C = mg/L
6.Hard
Vd = 0.7 L/kg4.5 → 15 mg/LLD = ? mg55 kg · S = 0.92 · F = 1

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 55 kg patient has a phenytoin level of 4.5 mg/L; the target is 15 mg/L. The drug is given intravenously as phenytoin sodium (S = 0.92), and the volume of distribution is 0.7 L/kg. What extra loading dose LD raises the level to the target?

55 kgVd = 0.7 L/kgC = 4.5 → 15 mg/LS = 0.92
LD = mg

Answer key

  1. 1. C = 1.682 mg/L
  2. 2. t½ = 9.002 h
  3. 3. R = 1.95 mg/min
  4. 4. t½ = 8.995 h
  5. 5. C = 17.57 mg/L
  6. 6. LD = 439.4 mg

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