How Does Effective Dose Relate to Safety and Risk Assessment?
The effective dose is integral to safety assessment and risk assessment. When determining the safety of a substance, toxicologists consider both the effective dose and the lethal dose (LD50)—the dose at which 50% of the population could experience fatal effects. The therapeutic index (TI), calculated as the ratio of the LD50 to the ED50, provides an indication of the drug's safety margin. A larger TI suggests a wider safety margin, meaning there is a greater separation between effective and lethal doses.
