This volume features a collection of published articles that appeared in "Australian Prescriber" on the subject of pharacokinetics. It aims to make the subject more accessible to its non-specialist audience, adopting a physiological approach with direct application of the concepts to practical issues related to drug therapy. This revised edition includes a new chapter on population pharmacokinetics, to reflect developments in the field. It also features self-assessment questions in each chapter and equations to explain physiological factors underlying important pharmacokinetics processes.

Table of Contents

Preface About the authors Definitions and Units of Symbols Equations Introduction 1. Clearance 2. Volume of Distribution 3. Half-life 4. How Drugs are Cleared by the Liver 5. Bioavailability and First-Pass Clearance 6. Predicting Drug Interactions and the Effects of Disease States for Metabolised Drugs 7. Clearance of Drugs by the Kidneys 8. Drug Protein Binding 9. Non-Linear Pharmacokinetics 10. How to Determine the Pharmacokinetic Parameters of a Drug 11. Pharmacodynamics-the Concentration-Effect Relationship 12. Designing Dose Regimens 13. Therapeutics Drug Monitoring Answers

About the Author

Don Birkett obtained his medical degree from Sydney University in 1967 and a D Phil in Biochemistry from Oxford University in 1970. He has been Professor and Head of CLinical Pharmacology at Flinders University of South Australia and Flinders Medical Centre since 1977. His major research interest has been in the field of drug metabolism using techniques ranging from in vitro molecular biological methods to in vivo pharmacokinetic studies. He was Chair of the International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR) Section on Drug Metabolism from 1994 to 1998. He has played a significant role in drug regulation, being a past member of the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee, and the current Chair of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee which considers the listing of drugs for government susidy in Australia. He also currently chairs the Australian Drug Utilization Subcommittee and the WHO Working Group on Drug Statistics Methodology. He has published more than 220 scientific papers and books. he has been teaching clinical pharmacology, pharmacology and pharmacokinetics for more than 25 years to medical and science students, and to drug regulators and members of the pharmaceutical industry.