A patient with severe edema receives a loading dose of a water-soluble drug. If the drug's volume of distribution is typically 15L, what effect dominates?

💡 Explanation

The peak plasma concentration will be higher in a patient with edema because the increased extracellular fluid volume reduces the effective volume of distribution; therefore, the drug is more concentrated in the plasma rather than being distributed across a larger volume, rather than reduced efficacy that could occur from increased first-pass metabolism.

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