Limitations of the maximum entropy principle in devising drug input rate.

A computer program applying the principle of maximum entropy to the analysis of drug absorption rate has been developed. Plasma concentrations of amoxicillin obtained after oral and intravenous dosing have been analysed, together with simulated data corresponding to a complex input. Amoxicillin absorption rates devised by the program were similar to those obtained by a standard deconvolution method, although they were displayed as an almost continuous profile. However, improbable fluctuations were obtained with some data sets and the fraction absorbed was underestimated by 13%. With the simulated data, the maximum entropy program did not provide a better solution than the standard deconvolution procedure, and it was sensitive to the addition of random error and to the number of samples. The maximum entropy principle, as implemented in our computer program, may not have a better performance than standard deconvolution procedures, especially in human experiments where the number of blood samples is usually limited.