Pharmacology Flashcards
What is the definition of a drug?
Foreign substances placed into the body.
What is the definition of a medication?
Drugs or other agents used to diagnose, treat or prevent disease.
What is pharmacology?
The study of drugs and their actions on the body.
What are the four types of drug names?
- Chemical Name 2. Generic Name; Suggested by the manufacturer and confirmed by the United States Adopted Name Council. 3. Drug Brand Name; The proper name should be capitalized. Also known as the trade name. 4. Official Name: The name approved by the FDA and placed into the US Pharmacopeia.
What agency confirms a generic drug name for use in the US Pharmacopiea?
The US Adopted Name Council
What are the main sources of drugs?
Plants, Animals, Minerals and Synthetics made in vitro.
What is the oldest source of drugs?
Plants
What are rules when referencing drugs?
Use more than one source, confirm with medical control. Be careful using Internet sources for drug references.
What is a Drug Insert?
A printed fact sheet supplied with most medications.
The Physicians Desk Reference is a compilation of what?
Drug Inserts
What are the components of a drug profile?
Name, Classification, Mechanism of Action, Indications, Pharmacokinetics, Side effects/Adverse effects, Routes of Administration, Contraindications, Dosages, How Supplied, Special Considerations.
Describe the classification component of a drug profile.
The broad group to which a drug belongs.
Describe the Mechanism of Action component of a drug profile.
The pharmacoynamics; the how/way in which the drug works.
Describe the Indications component of a drug profile.
The conditions which make administration appropriate.
Describe the pharmacokinetic component of a drug profile.
How the drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized and eliminated. This typically includes the onset and duration of action.
Describe the side effects component of a drug profile.
The untoward or undesired effects.
Describe the route of administration component of a drug profile.
How the drug can be given. IE. Orally, SubQ, IV, IO, ect.
Describe the contraindication component of a drug profile.
Conditions in which you should not administer a drug.
Describe the dosage component of a drug profile.
The amount that should be given.
Describe the How supplied component of a drug profile.
Typically includes the common concentrations of the available preparations for the drug.
Describe the special considerations component of a drug profile.
How the drug may affect pediatric, geriatric and pregnant patients.
Describe the Pure Food an Drug Act of 1906.
Federal Legislation that improved quality and labeling. It also named the US Pharmacopeia as the official source of drug information.
Describe the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914.
Federal Legislation that limited the use of addicting drugs by regulating the importation, manufacture, and sale of some substances.
Describe the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938.
Empowered the FDA to enforce and set premarked safety standards for drugs.
Describe the Durham-Humprhy Amendments
The were amendments to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938. Required pharmacists to have written or verbal prescription from a physician to dispense certain drugs. Created the category of “Over the Counter” medications.
Describe the Kefauer Harris Amendments
They were amendments to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938. Required manufactures to provide proof of safety and effectiveness. Stopped the re-marketing of inexpensive generic drugs under new trade names.
Describe the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970
Federal Legislation. Also known as the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Most recent major federal legislation relating to drugs. It repealed and replaced the Harrison Narcotic Act. Created 5 schedules of controlled substances.
Define Assay
Test that determines the amount of purity of a given chemical in a preparation in a lab.
How many phases of Human Studies are there?
Four
What does Phase 1 of a Human Study do?
Determines the pharmacokinetics, toxicity and safe dosage in humans. Usually tested on healthy individuals.
What does Phase 2 of a Human Study do?
It is tested on a limited number of patients who have the disease it is intended to treat. The primary purpose is to find therapeutic drug levels, watch for toxicity and side effects.
What does Phase 3 of a Human Study do?
Refine the therapeutic dose and collect data on side effects. Usually a double blind study. Once phase 3 is over a New Drug Application is filed.
What does Phase 4 of a Human Study do?
This is the post marketing analysis during conditional approval. Many drugs are recalled and discontinued after being released to the public.
What are the rights of med administration?
Right Medication, Right Patient, Right Dose, Right Route, Right Time and Right Documentation
What are Teratogenic drugs?
Drugs that during the 1st trimester of pregnancy may deform, injure or kill a fetus.
What are special considerations when working with a pregnant patient?
Changes in the mothers Anatomy and Physiology and the potential to harm the fetus.
What are special considerations when working with pediatric patients?
The pharmacokinetics are different; differences in gastric pH, differences in gastric emptying time, low enzyme levels. Children up to a year old have diminished plasma protein concentrations and thus drugs that are protein bound have a higher Free Drug Availability. Metabolic rates vary from low at birth then rising rapidly during the first few years of life and then lowering to adult levels later.
Define Free Drug Availability
A proportion of a drug that will be available in the body to cause desired or undesired effects.
What are some special considerations when working with a Neonate?
They have a higher proportion of extracellular fluid than adults. Neonates have 80% and adults have 50-55%. They are also susceptible to drugs penetrating the blood brain barrier due to the immature connective tissues.
What are the two most common factors in calculating drug dosages in pediatric patients?
Body Surface Are and Weight
Describe a Broslow Tape
It approximates the height and weight ration and assumes the childs weight at the 50th percentile for the height. It primarily addresses drugs administered in the critical care setting.
What are some special considerations when working with the geriatric populations?
Once older than 60 pharmacokinetic changes occur. They may absorb oral medications slower due to decreased gastrointestinal motility. Body fat increases and muscle decreases cause lipid soluble drugs to have a greater deposition thus lowering the amount available. Liver function changes may affect/delay or prolong drug action.
Define Pharmacokinetics
How a medication is absorbed, distributed, metabolized and excreted. How a medication moves in and out of the body.
What are the processes of Pharmacokinetics?
Absorption, Distribution, Biotransformation and Elimination
What is Active Transport?
The process that moves molecules against a concentration gradient using ATP. The Na+/K+ pump is an example.
What is Carrier Mediated/Facilitated Diffusion?
The process by which a special carrier protein on the surface of a cell will move large molecules such as glucose across the plasma membrane. These typically do not use ATP.
What is Passive Transport?
The movement of a substance without the use of energy.
What are the three types of passive transport?
Diffusion, Osmosis and Filtration
Diffusion and Osmosis require what?
A concentration gradient.