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MD Pharmacology NMC syllabus ~5 min read Recent advances last updated on 2026-05-28

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

Definition, indications, sampling strategy, interpretation, dose-regimen math and drug-specific applications — RGUHS-mapped LAQ for MD Pharmacology

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Introduction & PK-PD basis

  • Definition — Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) = use of validated assay procedures to measure plasma/serum drug concentrations and apply the result to individualise dosing so that exposure stays within a population-derived therapeutic range linked to efficacy and acceptable toxicity.
  • Distinct from — Pharmacokinetics (time course of ADME) and pharmacodynamics (concentration → effect at the receptor); TDM is the bedside application that links the two.
  • Kinetic homogeneity — Predictable equilibrium between plasma concentration and concentration at the inaccessible receptor site — the foundational assumption that lets a venous blood sample stand in for the receptor pool.
  • Therapeutic range — Probabilistic band bounded below by the minimum effective concentration (MEC) and above by the minimum toxic concentration (MTC); a grey overlap zone exists for every drug — ranges are population averages, never absolute boundaries.
  • Therapeutic index (TI) — MTC / MEC ratio; TDM is most useful when TI is narrow (synonyms in current literature: narrow-therapeutic-index [NTI] drug, critical-dose drug).
Figure 1 — Plasma concentration vs time showing the therapeutic window: MEC (sub-therapeutic boundary) and MTC (toxic boundary), with the grey overlap zone reflecting population variability.
Figure 1 — Plasma concentration vs time showing the therapeutic window: MEC (sub-therapeutic boundary) and MTC (toxic boundary), with the grey overlap zone reflecting population variability.
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Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

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