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/L9 hC = ?

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). Just after an IV dose, the gentamicin level is 6 mg/L. The half-life is 3.5 h, and the drug is eliminated by first-order kinetics. What is the level C 9 h later?

C₀ = 6 mg/Lt½ = 3.5 ht = 9 h
C = mg/L
2.Easy
Vd = 0.25 L/kgC = 8 mg/LLD = ?63 kg

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient who weighs 63 kg needs a loading dose of gentamicin to reach a level of 8 mg/L straight away. The volume of distribution is 0.25 L/kg. Find the loading dose LD in mg.

63 kgVd = 0.25 L/kgC = 8 mg/L
LD = mg
3.Medium
110t (h)C (mg/L)1 h7 mg/L6 h2.6 mg/L

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). After an IV dose of gentamicin, the level is 7 mg/L at 1 h and 2.6 mg/L at 6 h. Assume first-order elimination. Find the elimination rate constant k.

C1 = 7 mg/L (1 h)C2 = 2.6 mg/L (6 h)
k = h⁻¹
4.Medium
110t (h)C (mg/L)C₀ = 7 mg/Lt½ = 2 hC₀/2

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient receives an IV bolus of 170 mg of tobramycin. The level back-extrapolated to time zero is 7 mg/L and the half-life is 2 h. Find the clearance CL in L/h.

D = 170 mgC₀ = 7 mg/Lt½ = 2 h
CL = L/h
5.Hard
Vd = 0.5 L/kg6 → 12 mg/LLD = ? mg98 kg · S = 0.8 · F = 1

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 98 kg patient has a theophylline level of 6 mg/L; the target is 12 mg/L. The drug is given intravenously as aminophylline (S = 0.8), and the volume of distribution is 0.5 L/kg. What extra loading dose LD raises the level to the target?

98 kgVd = 0.5 L/kgC = 6 → 12 mg/LS = 0.8
LD = mg
6.Hard
t (h)C (mg/L)Css​t = ?80%

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A theophylline infusion is started without a loading dose. The half-life in this patient is 9 h. How long t does it take to reach 80% of the steady-state level?

t½ = 9 h80% Css
t = h

Answer key

  1. 1. C = 1.009 mg/L
  2. 2. LD = 126 mg
  3. 3. k = 0.1981 h⁻¹
  4. 4. CL = 8.417 L/h
  5. 5. LD = 367.5 mg
  6. 6. t = 20.9 h

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