Chap 6 drugs interections

Question 1

Discuss how side effects is a major risk of medications

Answer 1

• Some drugs can trigger side effects because of their chemical structure. (1 mark)
• The most common side effect involves the GI system (e.g. nausea, stomach upset). (1 mark)
• Other side effect is an allergic reaction could happen with any drug. (1 mark)

Question 2

describe how medication error is a major risk of medications

Answer 2

• A medication error is any preventable action that causes inappropriate drug use or patient harm due to mistakes by a health professional or patient.
• Many errors leading to patient harm involves the use of incorrect drugs or improper dosages

Question 3

Discuss drug-drug interections are a major risk of medications

Answer 3

• When a patient uses multiple drugs, one drug may alter the effect of another drug and the risk of side effect increases. (1 mark)
• These problems are common in older adults, who are likely to use several medications daily over long periods. (1 mark)
• Primary care doctors prescribe and supervise medication use, but some drugs are prescribed by different doctors (1 mark)
• Some patients use OTC medications in addition to prescribed drugs without being aware of the risks associated with certain drug combination. (1 mark)

Question 4

Discuss how diet- drug interactions are a major risk of medications

Answer 4

• Substance in the diet may alter the effectiveness of drugs.
• Drugs may affect food intake, digestion, absorption, metabolism and excretion of nutrients which can affect nutrition status.

Question 5

Explain how a person’s food intake and nutrient absorption can be affected by drugs or medications intake

Answer 5

• Drugs may reduce food intake by altering: - the appetite,
• interfering with taste and smell
• inducing nausea or vomiting, interfering with oral function (e.g. dry mouth),
• causing sores or inflammation in the mouth.
• Some medications stimulate food intake and encourage weight gain
• Drugs may alter nutrient absorption by changing the acidity of the digestive tract, damaging mucosal cells (e.g. cancer chemotherapy) and binding to nutrients (e.g. bile acid binders bind to fat-soluble vitamins)

Question 6

Who are at high risks of medication adverse effects? Why?

Answer 6

• The high-risk population are pregnant ladies, lactating women, children and older adults.
• This group of people are rarely participate in clinical trial that determine the drug safety.
• Children may react in different ways to drugs than adults do, and the appropriate dosage for their age is often unknown.
• Elderly people with chronic diseases that require multiple medications are especially susceptible to adverse effects.

Question 7

Describe FIVE (5) categories of diet-drug interactions.

Answer 7

• Drugs can alter food intake by reducing the appetite and make food consumption difficult, thus causing weight loss.
• Some drugs may increase appetite and cause weight gain.
• Drugs can alter the absorption, metabolism and excretion of nutrients.
• Conversely, nutrients/ food components can alter the absorption, metabolism and excretions of drugs.
• Some interaction between dietary components and drugs can be toxic.

Question 8

Explain how a person’s food intake can affect drug absorption

Answer 8

Major influences on drug absorption include:
i. Stomach-emptying rate
Taking a medication with meals may delay its absorption.
However some medication has to be taken with food to reduce stomach irritation
ii. Stomach acidity
Some medications are better absorbed in an acidic environment
Some medications can be damaged by acid and often available in coated forms to resist the stomach acidity
3) Interaction with Dietary Components
Some dietary component can bind to drugs and inhibit their absorption
Examples:
High fiber diet may decrease the absorption of some antidepressants
Calcium may bind to some antibiotics, reducing absorption of both the calcium and the drug
Dietary amino acid interfere with levodopa absorption

Question 9

Discuss how diet- drug interections can be prevented

Answer 9

All patients must be educated about the risk and potential diet-drug interactions
Health professionals should inform patients on:
The appropriate method of drug administration (e.g. twice daily or at bed time)
How the medications should be administered with respect to food/beverages (e.g. take on an empty stomach, take with food, do not take milk/alcohol)
How the medications should be used with respect to other medications
The side effects that may affect food intake (e.g. nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea) or nutrient absorption/metabolism.

-Patients who take multiple medications may need help learning when to take each medication to avoid:
Drug-drug interaction
Diet-drug interaction

-The health care practitioner can use information from a patient’s diet history to help the patient coordinate meals and drugs so to avoid interactions