Pharmacokinetic Considerations in Amputees

The purpose of this article is to review the currently available assessment tools for measuring renal function, body weight, and body surface area in the amputee population.

PubMed and Web of Science were searched using the following key terms: amputation, dose adjustment, and estimation of body weight. Articles published in languages other than English were excluded from the search.

Despite the increasing prevalence of amputations, there is little literature available that discusses its impact on the patient and how these physiological changes can affect pharmacokinetics. Very little information is available to guide dose adjustment in this patient population. This article discusses several factors to consider when determining optimum dosing regimens in patients with different levels of amputations.

This article will evaluate the applicability of methods mentioned in existing literature for measuring changes in renal function, body weight, and body surface area in amputees.