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
Vd = 0.7 L/kgC = 20 mg/LLD = ?103 kg

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient who weighs 103 kg needs a loading dose of vancomycin to reach a level of 20 mg/L straight away. The volume of distribution is 0.7 L/kg. Find the loading dose LD in mg.

103 kgVd = 0.7 L/kgC = 20 mg/L
LD = mg
2.Easy
110100t (h)C (mg/L)10 mg/L5 hC = ?

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). Just after an IV dose, the tobramycin level is 10 mg/L. The half-life is 2.5 h, and the drug is eliminated by first-order kinetics. What is the level C 5 h later?

C₀ = 10 mg/Lt½ = 2.5 ht = 5 h
C = mg/L
3.Medium
10100t (h)C (mg/L)2 h25 mg/L14 h12.5 mg/L

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). After an IV dose of vancomycin, the level is 25 mg/L at 2 h and 12.5 mg/L at 14 h. Assume first-order elimination. Find the half-life t½.

C1 = 25 mg/L (2 h)C2 = 12.5 mg/L (14 h)
t½ = h
4.Medium
110t (h)C (mg/L)C₀ = 6 mg/Lt½ = 2.5 hC₀/2

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient receives an IV bolus of 100 mg of tobramycin. The level back-extrapolated to time zero is 6 mg/L and the half-life is 2.5 h. Find the clearance CL in L/h.

D = 100 mgC₀ = 6 mg/Lt½ = 2.5 h
CL = L/h
5.Hard
VCss,avg​ = 10 mg/LD = ? mg · q8hCL = 0.04 L/kg/h100 kg · S = 0.8 · F = 1

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 100 kg patient takes oral aminophylline (S = 0.8, F = 1) every 8 h. The theophylline clearance is 0.04 L/kg/h. What dose D in mg gives an average steady-state level of 10 mg/L?

CL = 0.04 L/kg/hτ = 8 hS = 0.8F = 1100 kgCss,avg = 10 mg/L
D = mg
6.Hard
Vd = 7 L/kg0.5 → 0.8 mcg/LLD = ? mcg64 kg · S = 1 · F = 0.7

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 64 kg patient has a digoxin level of 0.5 mcg/L; the target is 0.8 mcg/L. The volume of distribution is 7 L/kg and the tablets have F = 0.7. What extra loading dose LD raises the level to the target?

64 kgVd = 7 L/kgC = 0.5 → 0.8 mcg/LF = 0.7
LD = mcg

Answer key

  1. 1. LD = 1442 mg
  2. 2. C = 2.5 mg/L
  3. 3. t½ = 12 h
  4. 4. CL = 4.621 L/h
  5. 5. D = 400 mg
  6. 6. LD = 192 mcg

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