Pharmacokinetic principles knowledge

The methodology to predict the time course of drug concentration in plasma after administration is well described and well accepted as a pharmacokinetic principle. Today, pharmacokinetic principles are used routinely to estimate and manage dosing of medications for their safe and effective use. Such knowledge is useful not only in designing clinical trials for a new molecular entity, but also in day-to-day clinical practice (Box 5.1). 

Drug interactions are normally considered as pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic, or they may be grouped according to the site at which the interaction takes place. Many drug interactions can be predicted from the knowledge of the principles of pharmacokinetics and of the mode of action of the drugs concerned, and so this chapter should be read in conjunction with the chapters which describe these principles. 

Table 4 summarizes the benefits to be derived for the various people concerned in intoxication and, in principle, obtainable in some situations by chemical analyses. Finally, as pointed out by Bickel (7) "There can be little doubt, however, that a treatment of intoxications based on pharmacokinetic knowledge is superior to a treatment guided by vague clinical impressions. Furthermore the success of measures aimed at favourably altering pharmacokinetics can be objectively assessed by means of drug analyses which then can serve as a feed-back for the improvement of treatment." It may, indeed, be considered remarkable if, contrary to those in other fields, the doctors involved in intensive care of poisoning should not desire to use all relevant data obtainable about what they are trying to cure. 

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