Drug Delivery Flashcards
What characteristics of the patient influence drug formulation?
- The patients Needs
- Their disease state
- Their pharmacological characteristics.
What 5 things are to be considered when determining dosage regime?
- Any renal/hepatic failure
- The recommended doses
- Age & weight
- Disease
- Drugs Toxicity
Where are oral meds absorbed into systemic circulation?
Oral meds absorped in the GI tract
Define a suspension:
Coarse drug particles in a liquid phase
What type of drugs are used in suspension?
Insoluble & unpalatable drugs
What type of patients would use solutoins/suspensions over tablets?
People with swallowing difficulties including the very young & old.
How are solution & suspensions delivered?
By naso-gastric or Peg tubes
What is the rate limitng step in tablet absorption?
The tablets break down or “dissolution”
What are the main advantages of tablet/capsule drugs?
Theyre:
- convenient to use
- have accurate doses
- easily reproduceable en masse
- high drug stability
Why would you use an enteric coating on a tablet?
Either to protect it from destructive stomach acid (Allowing it to reach the small intestine) or to protect the stomach from a toxic drug,
What drugs are enteric coated & why?
Omeprazole, to protect it from stomach acid
Aspirin to protect the stomach from it.
Why don’t enteric coated tablets disintegrate till they reach the small intestine?
They only disintegrate in higher pHs, the stomach is very acidic so theyre unchanged in it.
What are the advantages o prodrugs?
They avoid drug degradation in the gut
They also prolong duration of the action
What does a prolonged release formulation do?
Maintains the drug level within therapeutic range over a longer period.
How does usin prolonged release formulations improve patient compliance?
Prolonged release formulations need less frequent doses, increasing the odds a patient will take them all
In what 3 forms do prolonged release formulation geerally come?
Oral tablets
Intramuscular Injection
Surgical implants
What drugs are delivered by surgical implant?
Progesterone (contraception)
Testosterone
Why drugs are ideal for buccal/sublingual administration?
Those with a large pre-systemic or first pass metabolism
Do rectally delivered drugs treat locally or systemically?
Rectally delivered drugs can treat both local & systemic conditions