Chapter 1

Question 1

Definition: Drug

Answer 1

Any chemical that can affect living processes.

Any chemical can be considered a drug at a high enough dose.

Question 2

Definition: Pharmacology

Answer 2

The study of drugs and their interactions with living systems.

Question 3

Definition: Clinical Pharmacology

Answer 3

The study of drugs in humans.

Used to develop therapeutics.

Question 4

Definition: Therapeutics (Pharmacotherapeutics)

Answer 4

The use of drugs to diagnose, prevent, or treat disease or to prevent pregnancy.
Alternatively, the medical use of drugs.

Question 5

Properties of an Ideal Drug

The Big Three

Answer 5

Effectiveness: The drug does what it is meant to.

Safety: The drug is not harmful. Some drugs will always cause harmful effects, such as chemotherapies. Drug selection and dosage needs to minimize potential harm.

Selectivity: The drug only does one thing. There is no such thing as an entirely selective drug.

Question 6

Additional Properties of Ideal Drugs

Reversible Action

Answer 6

Effects are reversible and subside within an appropriate time.

Ex: Birth control does not cause sterility and people wake up after general anesthesia.

Question 7

Additional Properties of Ideal Drugs

Predictability

Answer 7

The drug does the same thing to everyone.

This isn’t actually possible because every person responds uniquely. This is why drug treatments must be tailored to each individual.

Question 8

Additional Properties of Ideal Drugs

Ease of Administration

Answer 8

The route of administration should be convenient and the doses per day should be low.

Ease of administration increases patient adherence and decreases risk.

Question 9

Additional Properties of Ideal Drugs

Freedom from Drug Interactions

Answer 9

Almost all drugs have interaction with other drugs. Interactions need to be considered when choosing drug therapies. Ideal drugs would have no interactions.

Question 10

Additional Properties of Ideal Drugs

Low Cost

Answer 10

Ideal drugs are easy to afford. People won’t take drugs they can’t afford.

Question 11

Additional Properties of Ideal Drugs

Chemical Stabilty

Answer 11

The drug does not lose effectiveness during storage.

Question 12

Additional Properties of Ideal Drugs

Possession of a Simple Generic Name

Answer 12

Nobody has time for complex names. When patients don’t remember the names of their drugs it can lead to inaccurate histories.

Question 13

Definition: The Therapeutic Objective

Answer 13

To provide maximum benefit with minimal harm.

Question 14

Four factors that determine the intensity of the drug response

Answer 14

1. administration
2. pharmacokinetics - body’s impact on the drug
3. pharmacodynamics - impact of drugs on the body
4. individual variations

remember: kinetics – how the body moves the drug

Question 15

Five rights of medication safety

Answer 15

right drug
right patient
right dose
right route
right time

Question 16

What’s the difference between an RN and a med tech

Answer 16

RN exercises judgment/clinical reasoning

Question 17

FDA purpose

Answer 17

protect public: safety, effectiveness, post-marketing surveillance

Question 18

Four stages of drug approval

Answer 18

• preclinical investigation
• clinical investigation
• FDA review
• postmarketing surveillance

Question 19

Three phases of clinical trials

Answer 19

• healthy (20-80)
• pts. with disease (100-300)
• pts in hospitals and clinics, incl complex health conditions (1000-3000)

don’t need to know numbers, just know that it’s more and more

Question 20

Does schedule I or schedule V have a higher potential for abuse?

Answer 20

schedule I is higher potential for abuse

Question 21

therapeutic vs pharmacological

Answer 21

therapeutic – why to use it e.g. antihypertensive

pharmacological – mechanism of action e.g. antidiuretic, beta blocker

Question 22

differences between brand name and generic meds

Answer 22

bioavailability, cost, formulations (inert substances)

Question 23

Are generic and brand name meds the same?

Answer 23

They have the same active ingredient, but differences in inert substances may affect bioavailability