Drug monitoring

Question 1

What needs to be checked before prescribing a statin?

Answer 1

ALT or AST. should be used with caution in people with liver disease

Question 1

What needs to be checked before prescribing vancomycin?

Answer 1

serum creatinine

Question 2

When do you take the monitoring for lithium?

Answer 2

12 hours after the last dose

Question 3

When does lithium need to be monitored?

Answer 3

weekly after initiation, after each dose change until concentrations are stable, and then every 3 months

Question 4

What monitoring needs to be completed with methotrexate?

Answer 4

FBC, U&Es, LFTs every 1-2 weeks until therapy stabilised. Then every 2-3 months.

Question 5

What needs to be checked before commencing olanzapine?

Answer 5

fasting blood glucose - hyperglycaemia can occur

Question 6

What needs to be completed before commencing amiodarone?

Answer 6

baseline chest x-ray

Question 7

What should be checked before starting sodium valporate?

Answer 7

LFTs - associated with hepatotoxicity.