therapeutic index

noun

Definition of therapeutic index

: a measure of the relative desirability of a drug for the attaining of a particular medical end that is usually expressed as the ratio of the largest dose producing no toxic symptoms to the smallest dose routinely producing cures

Examples of therapeutic index in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The risk of lithium toxicity, given the narrow therapeutic index, is why patients on lithium are closely monitored. — Lydia Wang, refinery29.com, 24 June 2021 The therapeutic index gives you the window in which the drug will be effective against the virus without causing undue side effects. — William A. Haseltine, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2020 Many antibiotics have a sufficiently high therapeutic index to allow for a single dose to be used. — Richard Klasco, New York Times, 8 June 2018 Because these trials are a mandatory step in the Food and Drug Administration approval process, each drug’s therapeutic index is well defined. — Richard Klasco, New York Times, 8 June 2018 The therapeutic index is the ratio of a drug’s efficacy to its toxicity. — Richard Klasco, New York Times, 8 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'therapeutic index.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Therapeutic index.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/therapeutic%20index. Accessed 16 Jan. 2022.

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