The effective dose at which 50% of the population has a response, known as ED50, is a fundamental notion in pharmacology crucial for evaluating pharmacological efficacy. This metric indicates the dosage level necessary to achieve the intended therapeutic effect in precisely 50% of subjects treated in specific experimental settings. The ED50 is an essential metric widely employed in multiple medical fields, especially in the delivery of anesthetics by intrathecal, intravenous, and inhalation routes. This article intends to deliver a thorough examination of the progress and innovations in the use of ED50 within the field of clinical anesthesiology. This review emphasizes the optimization of drug dosages, strategies for numerous drug combinations, a comparison of drug efficacy, the ED50 experimental design methodology, and the application of artificial intelligence in dosage prediction and optimization. We aim to scrutinize the significance and difficulties in clinical anesthesia, thereby providing direction for managing anesthetics in clinical environments.
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