CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY 2003 (PART 9B)

If a drug is administered by constant-rate i.v. infusion it is important to know when steady state has been reached, for maintaining the same dosing schedule will then ensure a constant amount of drug in the body and the patient will experience neither acute toxicity nor decline of effect. The t1/2 provides the answer: with the passage of each t1/2 period of time, the plasma concentration rises by half the difference between the current concentration and the ultimate steady-state (100%) concentration. ...