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
0.1110t (h)C (mg/L)6 mg/L7 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 2.5 h, and the drug is eliminated by first-order kinetics. What is the level C 7 h later?

C₀ = 6 mg/Lt½ = 2.5 ht = 7 h
C = mg/L
2.Easy
Vd = 0.25 L/kgC = 10 mg/LLD = ?106 kg

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient who weighs 106 kg needs a loading dose of gentamicin to reach a level of 10 mg/L straight away. The volume of distribution is 0.25 L/kg. Find the loading dose LD in mg.

106 kgVd = 0.25 L/kgC = 10 mg/L
LD = mg
3.Medium
110t (h)C (mg/L)1 h6 mg/L6 h1.9 mg/L

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). After an IV dose of tobramycin, the level is 6 mg/L at 1 h and 1.9 mg/L at 6 h. Assume first-order elimination. Find the half-life t½.

C1 = 6 mg/L (1 h)C2 = 1.9 mg/L (6 h)
t½ = h
4.Medium
110100t (h)C (mg/L)1 h10 mg/L6 h1.8 mg/L

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). After an IV dose of tobramycin, the level is 10 mg/L at 1 h and 1.8 mg/L at 6 h. Assume first-order elimination. Find the elimination rate constant k.

C1 = 10 mg/L (1 h)C2 = 1.8 mg/L (6 h)
k = h⁻¹
5.Hard
0.1110t (h)C (mg/L)Cpeak​ = 8τ = ?Ctrough​ = 1

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient's gentamicin half-life is 2 h. The target is a peak of 8 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 hCpeak = 8 mg/LCtrough = 1 mg/L
τ = h
6.Hard
t (h)C (mg/L)Css​17 hC = ?

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A theophylline infusion runs at 24 mg/h with no loading dose. The patient's clearance is 2 L/h and the half-life is 6 h. What is the level C after 17 h?

R = 24 mg/hCL = 2 L/ht½ = 6 ht = 17 h
C = mg/L

Answer key

  1. 1. C = 0.8615 mg/L
  2. 2. LD = 265 mg
  3. 3. t½ = 3.014 h
  4. 4. k = 0.343 h⁻¹
  5. 5. τ = 6 h
  6. 6. C = 10.32 mg/L

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