ABSTRACT
Introduction The elimination of many drugs is either partially or completely dependent on renal excretion. The therapeutic or toxic effect of drug therapy is related to the amount of free drug available. Therefore, drugs that rely on renal excretion for the elimination of either the whole drug, or its metabolites, require modification of either the dose, or the dose interval, if they are to be beneficial in the treatment of patients with compromised renal function. Although it is not suggested that renal nurses should memorise all of the drug modifications that are required, they should have a sound understanding of the reasons why drug modification might be necessary. They should also know how to access the necessary information to ensure that modification is undertaken as recommended.
