Pharmacology Considerations in Women in Lung Disease and Critical Care.

ABSTRACT

Men and women have fundamental anatomic and physiologic differences. A myriad of studies has shown that these distinctions can result in significant differences in the way certain drugs affect each sex and vice versa. This article provides an overview of sex differences in drug pharmacokinetics, with a focus on pharmacology in respiratory disease and in critical illness, as well as differences in pharmacokinetics throughout the female life cycle, with regard to pregnancy and menopause.