If dose is doubled with constant clearance, what happens to IV bolus AUC?

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Multiple Choice

If dose is doubled with constant clearance, what happens to IV bolus AUC?

Explanation:
The key idea is linear pharmacokinetics for an IV bolus: total drug exposure (AUC) is proportional to the dose when clearance is constant. For an IV bolus, AUC equals Dose divided by clearance (AUC = Dose/CL). If you double the dose while clearance stays the same, the AUC simply doubles, because you’re delivering twice as much drug into the system and the body clears it at the same rate. The exposure therefore increases in direct proportion to dose. The other possibilities would require changing clearance or nonlinear kinetics, which isn’t the case here.

The key idea is linear pharmacokinetics for an IV bolus: total drug exposure (AUC) is proportional to the dose when clearance is constant. For an IV bolus, AUC equals Dose divided by clearance (AUC = Dose/CL). If you double the dose while clearance stays the same, the AUC simply doubles, because you’re delivering twice as much drug into the system and the body clears it at the same rate. The exposure therefore increases in direct proportion to dose. The other possibilities would require changing clearance or nonlinear kinetics, which isn’t the case here.

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