Pharmacology💊 Flashcards
What can you offer as heroin substitutes?
Methadone or buprenorphine
What is an important blood test to monitor in amiodarone use?
Thyroid function tests
What are the symptoms of tricyclic overdose and what drugs can you use to manage this?
Early features relate to anticholinergic properties: dry mouth, dilated pupils, agitation, sinus tachycardia, blurred vision.
Features of severe poisoning include:
arrhythmias
seizures
metabolic acidosis
coma
ECG changes include:
sinus tachycardia
widening of QRS
prolongation of QT interval
Drugs management is IV sodium bicarbonate
What is Tamoxifen?
Tamoxifen is a Selective oEstrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM) which acts as an oestrogen receptor antagonist and partial agonist.
What is Lithium toxicity precipitated by?
dehydration
renal failure
drugs: diuretics (especially thiazides), ACE inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers, NSAIDs and metronidazole.
What ECG changes do macrolides cause?
Prolongation of the QT interval
Common side effect of doxycycline?
Photosensitivity
What is the treatment of benzodiazepine overdose?
Flumazenil
The majority of overdoses are managed with supportive care only due to the risk of seizures with flumazenil
What is the treatment of Lithium overdose?
mild-moderate toxicity may respond to volume resuscitation with normal saline
haemodialysis may be needed in severe toxicity
sodium bicarbonate is sometimes used but there is limited evidence to support this. By increasing the alkalinity of the urine it promotes lithium excretion
What is the treatment of Warfarin overdose?
Vitamin K, prothrombin complex
When should you start acetylcysteine immediately in paracetamol overdose?
There is uncertainty about the time of overdose, but it is potentially toxic
The overdose was staggered over a time period longer than an hour
The plasma-paracetamol level is over the treatment line on the treatment graph
The overdose was taken 8-36 hours before presenting
What is the ECG change seen in a tricyclic overdose?
QRS widening
What drugs should you avoid in renal failure?
antibiotics: tetracycline, nitrofurantoin
NSAIDs
lithium
metformin
When do you give activated charcoal?
If presenting within 1 hour of poisoning
When do you start N-Acetylcysteine in paracetamol dose without levels?
If presentation 8-24 hours after ingestion of an overdose of more than 150 mg/kg start acetylcysteine even if the plasma-paracetamol concentration is not yet available
- Also if there is a staggered overdose
What do you use to monitor unfractionated heparin?
APTT
What are some common side effects of calcium channel blockers?
Headache, flushing, ankle oedema
Give some examples of P450 inducers?
antiepileptics: phenytoin, carbamazepine
barbiturates: phenobarbitone
rifampicin
St John’s Wort
chronic alcohol intake
griseofulvin
smoking (affects CYP1A2, reason why smokers require more aminophylline)
Give some examples of P450 inhibitors?
antibiotics: ciprofloxacin, erythromycin
isoniazid
cimetidine,omeprazole
amiodarone
allopurinol
imidazoles: ketoconazole, fluconazole
SSRIs: fluoxetine, sertraline
ritonavir
sodium valproate
acute alcohol intake
quinupristin
What is the monitoring for statins?
LFTs at baseline, 3 months and 12 months
What is the monitoring for ACE inhibitors?
U&E prior to treatment
after increasing dose and at least annually
What is the monitoring for Amiodarone?
TFT, LFT, U&E, CXR prior to treatment
TFT, LFT every 6 months
What is the monitoring for Azathioprine?
FBC, LFT before treatment
FBC weekly for the first 4 weeks
FBC, LFT every 3 months
What is the monitoring for Lithium?
TFT, U&E prior to treatment
Lithium levels weekly until stabilised then every 3 months
TFT, U&E every 6 months
What is the monitoring for sodium valproate?
LFT, FBC before treatment
LFT ‘periodically’ during first 6 months
What is the first line drug in the management of cocaine toxicity?
Benzodiazepines are first line
What is the dosage of breakthrough opioid analgesia?
1/6th of the total daily opioid dose