A Synopsis of Clinical Pharmacokinetic Alterations in Advanced CKD

Abstract

Unrecognized alterations in pharmacokinetics, which quantitatively describes the time course of drug disposition in the body, may lead to clinically significant changes in systemic exposure and corresponding response to drugs in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Clinicians must take pharmacokinetic changes into consideration when selecting and dosing medications in CKD patients to optimize the risk:benefit ratio. Pharmacokinetic changes in absorption, distribution, and renal clearance are well characterized and generally predictable for most drugs. Conversely, changes in nonrenal clearance are less well understood and corresponding clinical implications are still being elucidated. This review provides a synopsis of alterations in each of these pharmacokinetic parameters observed in patients with advanced CKD.