Administration of the same dose of a drug to patients with different body weights results in different drug plasma profiles.
Adjustment of dose based on body weight can decrease the variability in drug profile in patients with different body weight.
In extremely thin or obese individuals, adjusting the dose based on body weight may not be enough to decrease the variability in drug profile in different individuals. This is because the body composition in these individuals is different from the average body composition.
Calculation of dose based on the lean body weight in obese individuals may be more appropriate.
{
Obese 150 kg
Obese individuals have higher body fat content.
Water soluble drugs such as gentamicin
distribute mainly in the extracellular water and
do not distribute to fat. Calculation of dose
based on lean body weight can be more
accurate in these individuals.
