A 'Loading Dose' is administered to:
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Correct answer: Rapidly achieve the target plasma concentration
Because it takes 4-5 half-lives to reach steady state naturally, a loading dose is used for drugs with long half-lives to 'fill' the volume of distribution immediately and achieve a therapeutic effect faster.
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More Half-Life and Clearance questions
- If a drug has a Clearance of 2 L/hr and a Volume of Distribution of 40 L, what is its approximate half-life?
- Which of the following describes 'First-Order' elimination kinetics?
- Which condition is most likely to reduce the hepatic clearance of a drug with a high extraction ratio?
- What occurs when the plasma concentration of a drug exceeds the $K_m$ (Michaelis constant) of its primary metabolic enzyme?
- Why is it important to know the half-life of a drug when considering a 'washout period' between switching medications?
- The total clearance ($Cl_{total}$) of a drug is the: