Nuclear Pharmacy Flashcards
Why is nuclear pharmacy specialized? (2)
- deals with radioactive material
- radioactive material have a very short life span
_____ recognized nuclear pharmacy as a specialty practice in 1975
APhA
T/F In 1978 the Board of Pharmacy Specialities made nuclear pharmacy the SECOND specialty certification program
FALSE: FIRST
What 2 environments do nuclear pharmacists typically work?
- institutional nuclear pharmacy (large medical center)
- commercial centralized pharmacy (off site)
Which environment is the most common for nuclear pharmacists to work in?
commercial centralized pharmacy
____ regulates nuclear pharmacy
NRC: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
What are the training requirements for nuclear pharmacy? (4)
- registered pharmacist
- board certified by BPS
- Exam
- 4000 hours training (classroom + practical training)
brachytherapy
placing radioactivity AT the site you are trying to destroy
T/F Brachytherapy is a NON-INVASIVE procedure
TRUE–> typically the theraseeds only have to be placed in the body ONCE
T/F If beta radiation is completed correctly, it is very localized
TRUE
Imaging uses _____ radiation
gamma (higher energy)–> travels long distances
Therapeutic radiation uses ________ radiation
beta (travels short distance)
Who has control in nuclear pharmacy? (3)
- NRC
- BOP
- State BOP (state agency)
A nucleotide generator uses
99mTcO4 (6 hour half life)
What is the purpose of the fume hood in radoopharmaceuticals?
filters to trap radioactive gases
Why are the containers used during radiopharmaceutical preparation made out of lead?
Because it is releasing gamma radiation (LEAD can stop GAMMA radiation)
_____ is the RATIO of radioactivity of the RADIONUCLIDE to the TOTAL activity in the preparation
radionuclide purity
_____ is the PERCENTAGE of the RADIONUCLIDE present in a specific CHEMICAL form
radiochemical purity
radionuclides must be: (3)
- sterile
- pyrogen free
- no particulate matter
Quality of assurance radionuclides is maintained by considering: (5)
- sterility
- pyrogenicity
- absence of foreign particulate matter
- particle size
- pH
_____ is a radioactive pharmaceutical agent that is used for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures
radiopharmaceutical
For a product to be classified as a radio- pharmaceutical agent safe for human use, the preparer must:
- satisfy a state agency (State BOP)
- FDA
- NRC
T/F The FDA and NRC responsibilities have overlapping jurisdictions
TRUE
What two areas are radoopharmaceuticals divided into?
- diagnosis (well established)
- therapeutic (evolving)
The largest portion of radiopharmaceutical products have applications in what areas? (3)
- cardiology (myocardial perfusion)
- oncology (tumor imaging)
- neurology (cerebral perfusion
What do radiopharmaceutical consist of? (2)
- drug component
- radioactive component
Most radionuclide contain a component that emits ____ radiation
gamma (high energy; short wavelength)
Substances that have varying numbers of protons and neutrons as compared to stable elements are called_____
radionuclides
Nuclides can be ___ or _____
stable or unstable
What is an important distinction between radiopharmaceuticals (RP) and traditional drugs?
radiopharmaceuticals lack pharmacologic activity
What is an advantage of RP?
radioactivity allows non-invasive external monitoring or targeted therapeutic irradiation with very little effect on the biologic processes in the body
T/F RP have very high adverse effects
FALSE; incidence are extremely low
Systemic administration of radiopharma- ceuticals for site-specific use allows the phy- sician to treat ______
treat widely disseminated diseases
Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals are designed for _________ and based solely upon _________ of the target organ even if the actual location of the cancerous tumor is unknown.
site specificity ;physiological function
T/F ALL of the atoms of an unstable radionuclide completely rearrange at the same instant
FALSE: NOT ALL
The time required for a radionuclide to decay to 50% of its original activity is termed its _________
radioactive half-life
The activity of a radioactive material is expressed as…
the number of nuclear transformations per unit of time
Because of decay, all radioactivity ______ with time because fewer atoms remain as the atoms decay
decreases
The fraction of nuclei disintegrating with time is always ______
constant
The _______ the decay constant the faster the decay and the ______ the half- life.
larger; shorter
Half life is ______ proportional to the decay constant
inversely
What is the fundamental unit of radioactivity?
Curie (Ci)
The amount of radiation absorbed by body tissue in which a radioactive sub- stance resides is called______
radiation dose (measured in rad)
___ is the international unit of absorbed dose
Gray (Gy)
What are the 3 types of radiation decay?
- alpha
- beta
- gamma
_____ has the largest mass and charge radiation ( 2 protons and 2 neutrons)
alpha
As an alpha particle loses energy, its velocity ______
decreases
T/F Most alpha particles are unable to pierce the outer layers of skin or penetrate a thin piece of paper.
TRUE
______ because the charge is large, it does cause a great deal of damage to the immedi- ate area by breaking down DNA.
alpha particles
_____ may be either electrons with negative charge, negatrons, or positive electrons, posi- trons.
beta particles
T/F Beta particles are be used for therapeutic us
TRUE
Where do Auger electrons originate from?
the nucleus
Auger electrons are similar to ____ particles
beta
The optimum dose of a radiopharmaceutical is that which allows acquisition of the desired information with the ______ amount of radiation dose or exposure to the patient.
least
Best diagnostic images at the lowest radiation dose are attained if the radionuclide has a ______ and emits only _____ radiation
short half-life; gamma
It is commonly known as the “ideal” radionuclide for DIAGNOSTIC imaging.
99mTc
For therapeutic use, radionuclides should emit ______, which deposits the radiation within the target organ
beta radiation
____emits both beta and gamma, so it can used for diagnosis and therapeutic procedures
131I
RP can be used: (4)
- to diagnose disease
- evaluate progression of disease
- evaluate drug toxicity
- treat diseased tissue
Imaging procedures are classified as either ____ or _____
dynamic or static
The ________ provides useful information through the rate of accumulation and
removal of the radiopharmaceutical from a specific organ
dynamic study
A ________ merely provides perfusion and morphologic informa- tion, such as assessing adequacy of blood flow;
static study
