JLE

Journal de Pharmacie Clinique

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Pharmacokinetic specificities of drugs used in patients with major burn Volume 20, issue 1, Mars 2001

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Authors
Laboratoire de pharmacologie-toxicologie, CHU Henri-Mondor, 51, avenue du Maréchal-de-Lattre-de-Tassigny, 94010 Créteil cedex.

The pathophysiology associated with major burns is complex and subject to a state of flux which could affect the disposition and the pharmacokinetic behaviour of drugs. Consequently, inter- and intra-individual variability is frequently observed. In current clinical practice, practitioners often use powerful drugs ; however few pharmacokinetic studies are available in major burn patients. Furthermore, the method used is sometimes questionable. After dealing with the ethical and physiological context in which such research is undertaken, the authors report a review of the pharmacokinetic studies done. Concerning antimicrobial agents, few therapeutic recommandations are available. However, in this case, therapeutic monitoring is possible and represents a suitable tool to better master their use. Few therapeutic recommandations are available for the other drugs. Some investigations have shown, for some drugs, the possibility of a lesional diffusion or pharmacokinetics modifications using new therapeutic schedules in burns. Considering the relatively meager pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data available in burns, it is important in the future to refine our knowledge of the distribution and metabolism of drugs in burn patients in order to better master their use.