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Related Concept Videos

Drug Concentrations: Measurements01:23

Drug Concentrations: Measurements

Drug concentration is the quantity of a drug present in a biological sample. Measuring drug amounts in biological samples allows the clinician to understand how a drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted. Samples can be obtained through invasive or non-invasive methods. Invasive techniques involve surgical or parenteral interventions to gather blood, cerebrospinal fluid, or tissue biopsy. Conversely, non-invasive approaches provide samples like urine, feces, and saliva.
Plasma —...
Time Course of Drug Effect01:14

Time Course of Drug Effect

The progression of a drug's impact can be analyzed by examining both the concentration-time course and the effect-time course. The concentration-time course is determined by the drug's half-life and is influenced by factors such as its pharmacokinetics, including absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination. The effect of the drug is often related to its concentration in the plasma and is calculated using the maximum drug effect and the plasma concentration that generates 50 percent of...
Drug Concentration Versus Time Correlation01:15

Drug Concentration Versus Time Correlation

The plasma drug concentration-time curve is a crucial tool in pharmacokinetics, representing the drug's concentration in plasma at different time intervals post-administration. This curve illustrates the drug's journey from absorption into the systemic circulation, distribution to body tissues, and eventual elimination through excretion or biotransformation.
Two pivotal parameters are the minimum effective concentration (MEC) and the minimum toxic concentration (MTC). The MEC is the lowest drug...
Factors Affecting Drug Distribution: Organ Perfusion Rate01:15

Factors Affecting Drug Distribution: Organ Perfusion Rate

Drug distribution within the body is a complex process influenced by several factors, including perfusion rate, the rate at which the bloodstream transports drugs to tissue. This limitation becomes particularly significant when dealing with highly lipophilic drugs. In such cases, the rate at which the drug can move across membranes is crucial, and if the membrane is highly permeable to the drug, distribution becomes rate-limited by perfusion.
Perfusion rate-limited distribution relies on the...
Compartment Models: Two-Compartment Model01:20

Compartment Models: Two-Compartment Model

The two-compartment model divides the body into central and peripheral compartments to account for varying blood perfusion rates among organs and tissues, affecting drug distribution. The central compartment includes blood and highly perfused tissues with rapid drug distribution, while the peripheral compartment contains tissues with slower drug distribution. After a single IV bolus dose, the drug concentration is high in plasma and low in tissues. The drug distribution between compartments...
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Drug Analysis Methods01:26

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Drug Analysis Methods

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is a clinical practice that measures specific drug levels in a patient's blood or body tissues to tailor drug therapy effectively. This monitoring is critical for managing drugs with narrow therapeutic indices like digoxin and phenytoin, ensuring they are both safe and effective. For instance, monitoring theophylline levels in asthma patients involves precision and sensitivity to adjust doses according to individual responses to therapy, ensuring efficacy and...

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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

High-throughput and Comprehensive Drug Surveillance Using Multisegment Injection-Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry
10:17

High-throughput and Comprehensive Drug Surveillance Using Multisegment Injection-Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry

Published on: April 23, 2019

Post-mortem drug concentrations.

M C Kennedy1

  • 1Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. drmkenn@ozemail.com.au

Internal Medicine Journal
|October 24, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Drug concentrations change significantly after death due to redistribution and synthesis. Interpreting post-mortem drug levels requires careful consideration of these changes alongside patient history for accurate toxicological assessment.

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An Intestine/Liver Microphysiological System for Drug Pharmacokinetic and Toxicological Assessment

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Area of Science:

  • Forensic Toxicology
  • Post-mortem Chemistry
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Drug concentrations in the body undergo significant alterations following death.
  • Factors such as drug redistribution and post-mortem synthesis (e.g., alcohol, gamma hydroxybutyrate) can alter drug levels.
  • Existing tables of therapeutic, toxic, and lethal drug concentrations may be misleading in post-mortem cases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the dynamic changes in drug concentrations after death.
  • To address the challenges posed by post-mortem drug redistribution in toxicological analysis.
  • To emphasize the importance of integrating ante-mortem data with post-mortem findings.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on post-mortem drug concentration changes.
  • Discussion of factors influencing drug levels, including redistribution and synthesis.
  • Emphasis on the integration of clinical history with toxicological data.

Main Results:

  • Drug concentrations show variable changes post-mortem: some increase, some decrease, and some remain unchanged.
  • Endogenous synthesis of certain substances (e.g., alcohol) can occur after death.
  • Post-mortem redistribution is a significant complicating factor in interpreting drug concentrations.

Conclusions:

  • Accurate interpretation of post-mortem drug concentrations is complex due to dynamic changes.
  • Published concentration tables should be used with caution in post-mortem investigations.
  • Integrating ante-mortem clinical information with post-mortem toxicological results is crucial for reliable interpretation.