Klin Farmakol Farm. 2023;37(3):102-107 | DOI: 10.36290/far.2023.018

Population approach in pharmacokinetic analysis

Jan Hlaváč, Martin Šíma, Ondřej Slanař

Farmakologický ústav, 1. lékařská fakulta Univerzita Karlova a Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice v Praze

Population pharmacokinetics is a field of pharmacology that aims to create a mathematical model describing the pharmacokinetics of a drug in a population, including its variability. This article provides an insight into this field and explains the terminology to better understand the studies. The method is introduced in the context of pharmacology as a whole, with an emphasis on pharmacokinetics and the use of statistical models for optimal dosing. The next section is a quick summary of the history of pharmacokinetics after the creation of NONMEM with a follow-up on computerized data processing today. The following section focuses on model building, various approaches to parameter estimation including the Bayesian method, and continues with validation methods, followed by a short section on parameter covariance. Finally, the benefits and positives of population pharmacokinetics are summarized and a discussion of its limitations and perspectives is provided.

Keywords: population pharmacokinetics, non-linear mixed-effects modeling, Bayesian statistics, pharmacokinetic model.

Accepted: October 12, 2023; Published: October 13, 2023  Show citation