Question

question 5
part ii, data analysis:
a drug is being prescribed to patients with a terminal condition; they would otherwise die without this treatment. however, there are severe side effects to taking it, which can include death. the following plot shows the dose - response curve for the drug (solid curve) indicating how effective the drug is at treating the condition (its efficacy), and the curve of the rate of side effects (dotted curve) as a function of the dosage. pick the closest answers for the following questions.
based on the above plot, what should the dosage be in mg of drug per kg body weight per day?
○ 2.5
○ 1.1
○ 1.5
☑ 0.5

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze the plot

The solid curve is efficacy (drug effectiveness) and the dotted curve is side effects (including death). We need to find a dosage where efficacy is high enough and side effects are manageable. Looking at the plot, at dosage 2.5 mg/kg/day, the efficacy curve (solid) has reached a high level (close to maximum efficacy) and the side effect curve (dotted) is still relatively low (not spiking yet).

Step2: Evaluate options

• 0.5: Efficacy is low (curve just starting), so not enough.
• 1.1: Efficacy is still increasing, maybe not optimal.
• 1.5: Efficacy is increasing, but 2.5 gives higher efficacy with manageable side effects.
• 2.5: Efficacy is high (solid curve is flat or near flat, meaning maximum efficacy), and side effects (dotted) are still not too high (before the sharp increase in side effects at higher dosages).

Answer:

2.5