Pharmacology Chapter 7 - Adverse Drug Reactions Flashcards
What is an adverse drug reaction?
a noxious, unintended and undesired effect that occurs at normal drug doses.
Mild reactions -
drowsiness, nausea, itching, rash.
Severe reactions
respiratory depression, neutropenia (lack of white blood cells), hepatocellular injury, anaphylaxis, hemorrhage,
ADR’s are most common in…
Elderly (older than 60), very young (1-4 years) and patients taking more than one drug.
Side effect - def
nearly unavoidable secondary drug effect produce at therapeutic dose, like drowsiness with an antihistamine. Can appear right at time of drug intake or much later.
Toxicity - def (and what it also means.)
an adverse drug reaction caused by excessive dosing. (like hypoglycemia by too much insulin.)
Also means severe ADR, regardless of drug dose.
Allergic reaction -
immune response due to sensitization to drug, like with penicillin or aspirin, etc.
Idiosyncratic Effect - def (think *idiosyncrasies)
uncommon drug response resulting from a genetic predisposition.
Iatrogenic Disease - def
disease produced by physician or by drugs. Nearly identical to idiopathic (naturally occurring) diseases.
Physical dependance - def
Long-term use of drug may lead to dependence.
Carcinogenic Effect - def
Certain medications and environmental chemicals may cause cancer. (like DES - similar to estrogen. Was used to stop spontaneous abortion in high risk pregnancies, but caused cancer (uterine and vaginal) years later.)
Teratogenic effect - def
drug induced birth defect.
Examples - quinine and alcohol - congenital malfunction, or nicotine and smaller infants.
Most critical time for any organ is when it is…
growing.
Formation of organs in utero - timeline.
Heart - week 3-4
External genitalia - weeks 8-9
Brain & skeleton - week 3-end of pregnancy.
