What is the time required for a new antihypertensive drug to reach steady state if its half-life is 12 hours?

To determine the time it takes for a drug to reach steady state, it's essential to understand the relationship between a drug's half-life and its accumulation in the body. Typically, a drug will reach approximately 90-95% of its steady-state concentration after 4 to 5 half-lives.

Given that the half-life of the new antihypertensive drug is 12 hours, you can calculate that:

• 1 half-life: 12 hours

• 2 half-lives: 24 hours

• 3 half-lives: 36 hours

• 4 half-lives: 48 hours

• 5 half-lives: 60 hours

Based on this calculation, it would take approximately 60 hours to reach steady state. Since none of the choices provided includes 60 hours, it appears there might be confusion regarding the interpretation of the question or the choices listed.

Typically, the steady state is considered to be achieved after 4 to 5 half-lives, making the most reasonable answer be the representation of that timeframe, which is significantly less than 120 hours. Therefore, rather than indicating a direct answer of 48 hours being correct, the implication is that the steady-state concept relies on accumulating