Population Specific Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
From Pubdrug
Introduction
When deciding on pharmacotherapy for a patient there are many factors to consider for example: concurrent medications, diseases, and organ function (ex: renal, hepatic, cardiac) status, all of which will have an impact on the chosen medication for theapy and dose and frequency of that medication. Unfortunately, chosing the correct medication and dosage can be difficult in certain populations because the dosages and indications published in the package inserts were chosen based upon the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of healthy study subjects or otherwise healthy study patients (for medications that may cause harm in volunteers who do not have the treated disease)in limited age ranges. PK & PD characteristics are dependent upon specific biological processes governed by the physiological status of the organ system responsible for carrying out the biological process. Furthermore, the physiological status of a given patient can be dependent upon specific, temporal (age range) or perminent (ethnicity), charateristics of the patient. Such population specific characteristics can have a vast impact on medication Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, & Elimination (ADME) pharmacokinetics, as well as drug response (pharmacodynamics). Below is a list of special populations with known specifics in drug pharmacokinetic & pharmacodynamic characteristics.
