A maintenance dose is the maintenance rate of drug administration equal to the rate of elimination at steady state. This is not to be confused with a dose regimen, which is a type of drug therapy in which the dose of a drug is given at a regular dosing interval on a repetitive basis. Continuing the maintenance dose for about 4 to 5 half lives (t½) of the drug will approximate the steady state level. One or more doses higher than the maintenance dose can be given together at the beginning of therapy with a loading dose.
A loading dose is most useful for drugs that are eliminated from the body relatively slowly. Such drugs need only a low maintenance dose in order to keep the amount of the drug in the body at the appropriate level, but this also means that, without an initial higher dose, it would take a long time for the amount of the drug in the body to reach that level.
Read more about Maintenance Dose: Calculating The Maintenance Dose, See Also
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