Pharmacokinetic Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.
These are the MediaLab courses that cover Pharmacokinetic and links to relevant pages within the course.
Learn more about laboratory continuing education for medical technologists to earn CE credit for AMT, ASCP, NCA, and state license renewal and recertification. Or get information about laboratory safety and compliance courses that deliver cost-effective OSHA safety training and continuing education to your laboratory's employees.
| Basic Pharmacokinetics In order to discuss TDM and PGx we need to also introduce the concept of pharmacokinetics. Pharmacokinetics is the study of drug disposition in the body: how and when drugs enter the circulation, how long they remain in the blood, and how they are eliminated. TDM is the clinical assessment of a drug's pharmacokinetic properties. Physicians and pharmacists need to establish that a drug is present at an effective concentration but not at a toxic concentration. The next few pages will describe some of the factors that determine a drug's disposition in the body. These factors ultimately decide the need for therapeutic drug monitoring. | View Page |
| Why TDM? Pharmacologists determine a drug's pharmacokinetic characteristics empirically during clinical drug trials. From these studies, they are able to determine the solubility and distribution, the average half-life, the levels of protein binding, and the effective concentrations needed for treatment. | View Page |
| TDM for all drugs? Can all drugs benefit from TDM? Not really. For TDM to be effective and useful, one or more of the following should apply: The effective concentration and toxic concentrations must be well-defined. The pharmacokinetics of the drug are known to be variable. The drug is given chronically. There is the potential for drug-to-drug interactions. The drug exhibits high protein binding. The toxicity will mimic the indication for the drug; toxicity may not be visible during an exam but will only be revealed with TDM. The patient is pregnant, very young, or elderly. Compliance or history with the drug is poor. | View Page |
| Sampling Ideally, a drug level would be monitored frequently and consistently, providing the clinician with a detailed pharmacokinetic profile over time. In reality, serum samples are often measured only during relatively infrequent clinic visits, meaning that many days or weeks may pass before a drug concentration 'snap-shot' is taken. | View Page |