[Drug kinetics in patients with renal failure]

Dosages must be adjusted in patients with renal failure because they absorb, distribute and eliminate drugs differently from healthy people. There is a danger of accumulation of drugs or their active metabolites in these patients. A normal loading dose is required in order to achieve a therapeutic drug concentration within a reasonable time. The maintenance doses of drugs with a narrow therapeutic index should be adjusted according to the changes in the serum drug levels. The maintenance doses of other drugs could be calculated according to the patient's glomerular filtration rate.