Introduction and terminology Flashcards
what is a healthcare professional
- caregiver
- decision maker
- communicator
- manager
- life long learner
- teacher
- leader
what must we know about each patients’ medications
- the names, dosage, mechanisms of action, and interactions with other drugs
what do we need to do with the health history at every appointment
- check for changes in medical history
- ask about allergic reactions to drugs
- be familiar with all drugs the patient is taking, new or old
- include OTCs and herbals
- know and understand that drugs have impact on patient care
what is polypharmacy
- use of many medications
who was shen nung
- tested 365 different drugs including herbs, barks and roots on himself to see their affects
what was the goal of pharmacology about 5000 years ago
- to scare out evil spirits
- restore balance in the body
- blood letting
- trepanation
how much of medications were plants up until the 1900s and what are some examples of plants and their healing mechanisms
- 75%
- cardiac glycosides (digosin) from foxglove plant
- cocaine from coca leaves
- morphine from opium (poppy)
how many medications today contain one or more active ingredients from plants
- 25%
- the other 75% are synthetic
what is pharmacology
- biomedical study of interaction of chemical substances with living systems including cells, tissues and organism
what are drugs
- substances or chemical agents that affect biologic or living systems
what is pharmacotherapeutics
- the use of drugs in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease
what is pharmacokinetics
- the study of drugs movement throughout the body
what is pharmacodynamics
- the actions of a drug on a specific target organ
what is pharmacogenetics
- the convergence of pharmacology and genetics including the genetic factors that influence an organism’s response to a drug
what is posology
- the study of the dosages of medicines and drugs
what is toxicology
- the scientific study of poisons, industrial pollutants, and the undesirable effects of drugs on living cells, tissues and organisms
what is pathophysiology
- study of diseases and the functional changes occurring in the body as a result of diseases
what is indication
- approved use of the drug in canada to treat various diseases/disorders
what is a contraindication
- a specific situation in which a drug, procedure, or surgery is not indicated and should NOT be used, because it may harm the patient. drug is NOT to be used in those conditions
what are the 3 types of therapeutic drug classes
- traditional drug therapies (ie advil)
- natural/alternative therapies (ie melatonin)
- biologics (ie insulin)
what are traditional drug therapies
- chemically-produced
- synthesized in a lab
- used routinely by health practitioners
what are natural/alternative therapies
- naturally-produced
- herbs
- vitamins
- minerals
- extracts from a natural source
what are biologics
- naturally-produced
- made by the body’s cells
- associated with the bloodstream
- hormones
- vaccines
- animal products
- made by microorganisms
- used routinely by health practitioners
what are the 3 types of drug names
- chemical name (ex. N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acetamide
- generic name (non-proprietary) (ex. acetominophen)
- brand (trade/proprietary) name (ex. tylenol)
what are therapeutic effects
- desirable/beneficial effect of drugs
what are undesirable drug effects (2)
- adverse drug events
- adverse drug reactions:
- adverse effects
- toxic reactions
- idiosyncratic reactions
- allergic reactions
- mutagenic and teratogenic reactions
what is an adverse drug event (ADE)
- injury resulting from medical intervention
- result of toxicity
- prescribing too much of correct drug (overdose)
- prescribing drug contraindicated for the patient’s condition
- providing correct drug but wrong route
- drug interactions
- predictable and preventable
- individual’s response and genetic differences
what are adverse drug reactions (ADR)
- drug effect that is noxious and unintended
- occurs at doses used in humans for prophylaxis, diagnosis, or therapy
- requires discontinuing drug
- requires changing drug therapy
- requires modifying dose
- may require admission to a hospital
- not predictable/unintentional
- ex. rash to penicillin
what are adverse effects
- usually dose related. the higher the dose - the greater the adverse effects. ex. diphenhydramine = xerostomia and dry mouth
- undesirable side effects
- additional drug actions at therapeutic levels
- every medication has potential adverse effects
what is the toxic effect
- defined as harmful effects associated with drug overdose, such as acute toxicity and chronic toxicity
- dose dependent and predictable
- non target organs involved
- ex. respiratory failure with morphine
what is idiosyncrasy
- the unexplained, uncharacteristic response to a drug
- caused by hereditary factors or genetic differences
- ex. excitement with benadryl
what is an allergic response
- complex formed between an antigen (drug) and antibody (in body)
- not dose dependent and unpredictable
- mild rash to anaphylaxis
- ex. penicillin allergy
what is a mutagenic reaction
- caused by drug-induced damage to DNA
- display of damage evident in children from these parents
- heritable genetic defect
- ie. radiation
what is a teratogenic reaction
- drug induced damage that develops in the fetus
- depends on when the drug exposure occurred
- first trimester most dangerous
what are drug interations
- occur between drug and food, drug and drug and drug and disease
- produce an unusual response
