Pharmacology Terms Flashcards
Bioavailability
The amount of a drug that enters central circulation and is able to cause an effect
Bolus
Administration of medication in single dose (as opposed to an infusion)
Concentration
For calculation purposes, this is the amount of medication available as packaged
Dose
The drug amount intended for administration
Enteral
Delivery of medication through the GI tract (oral, sublingual, rectal)
Half-life
Period of time required for concentration of drug in the body to be reduced by one-half
Parenteral
Delivery of medication outside the GI tract (IV, IO, IM, SQ, IN)
Pharmacokinetics
Movement of a drug through the body, includes absorption, bioavailability, distribution, metabolism, and excretion
Pharmacodynamics
Mechanism of action of a medication
Therapeutic index
The range between minimum effective dose of a medication and the maximum safe dose (narrower the index the more risk associated with the medication)
Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)
Prevents the manufacture, sale, or transport of misbranded or poisonous medications
Harrison Narcotic Act (1914)
Regulates production,importation, and distribution of opiates
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (1938)
Gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics
Controlled Substances Act (1970)
Categorizes controlled substance based on their potential for abuse and potential medical benefits
Six rights of drug administration
- Patient
- Drug
- Time
- Route
- Amount
- Documentation
Adrenergic
Related to the sympathetic nervous system (think “adrenaline “)
Adverse effect
Unintended effect of a medication administration
Agonist
Medication that stimulates a specific response
Analgesic
Medication that reduces pain
Antagonist
Medication that inhibits a specific action
Cholinergic
Related to the parasympathetic nervous system (think “acetylcholine”)
Contraindications
Circumstance when a medication should not be used
Cumulative effect
Repeated administration of a medication that produces effects that are more pronounced than the first dose
Drug class
Categorization of medications with similarities or uses
Extra pyramidal
Tremors, slurred speech, restlessness, muscle twitching, anxiety side effects
Habituation
Diminishing of a physiological or emotional response to a frequently repeated stimulus (cigarettes)
Hypersensitivity
Undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity
Hypertonic solution
Solution that has a greater concentration of solutes on the outside of a cell when compared with the inside of a cell, causing fluid to move out of the cell
Hypotonic solution
Solution that has a lesser concentration of solutes on the outside of a cell when compared with the inside of a cell, causing fluid to move into the cell
Indication
Circumstance when a medication should be considered
Isotonic solution
Sodium concentration same as intracellular fluid
Mechanism of action
Pharmacological effects of a medication
Potentiation
Interaction between two on more medications causing a response greater than the sum of each individual medication
Refractory
Resistant to treatment
Side effect
Unwanted effect of medication administration
Therapeutic action
Desirable effects of medication administration
Tolerance
Reduced response to a medication due to repeated use
Untoward effect
Adverse or harmful side effects of medication administration
altered LOC/OD drugs
- activated charcoal
- dextrose
- glucagon
- naloxone
- thiamine
Analgesic drugs
- fentanyl
- morphine
- nitrous oxide
Antidysrhythmics/antiarrhythmics
- adenosine
- amiodarone
- atropine
- cardizem
- lidocaine
- verapamil
Cardiac drugs
- aspirin
- bumetanide
- dopamine
- epinephrine
- furosemide
- nitroglycerine
Electrolytes/misc
- calcium
- magnesium sulfate
- ondansetron
- oxygen
- oxytocin
- promethazine
- sodium bicarbonate
Respiratory drugs
- albuterol
- atrovent
- decadron
- diphenhydramine
- methylprednisolone
Sedation/seizure/paralytic
- diazepam
- etomidate
- ketamine
- lorazepam
- midazolam
- succinylcholine
Receptor sites:
- Alpha 1
- Beta 1
- Beta 2
- Opioid
- Cause vasoconstriction
- Cause increased heart rate (chronotrope), increased cardiac force of contraction (intrope), and increased myocardial conduction (dromotrope)
- Cause bronchodilator
- Causes CNS depression, analgesia
Liquid medications administered into the body through intramuscular, subcutaneous, or intravenous are known as:
Parenteral drugs
The branch of the autonomic nervous system that controls vegetative functions such as digestion of food, is the:
Parasympathetic
You are treating a pediatric patient for bradycardia. The patient weighs approximately 10 kilograms. Protocol indicates that 0.01 mg/kg IV/IO should be given. What is the dose of epinephrine for this patient?
1mg
Which of the following would be listed as a Schedule I drug?
Heroin
The term “therapeutic index” refers to:
Ratio of a drugs lethal dose to its therapeutic dose
After determining that your patient has overdosed on a narcotic medication causing a decreased respiratory drive, you administer the medication, naloxone that opposes the effects of the narcotic increasing the respiratory drive. This is an example of a/an:
Antagonism
________ is the length of time that a medication concentration is sufficient in the blood to produce a therapeutic response.
Duration of action
During the morning drug inventory of your unit, you notice that you have a solution of 10% calcium chloride available. Based on the commonly used weight/volume percentage, you know that this solution contains:
10g/100cc
You are ordered to give 250 ml of 0.9% normal saline to a patient over 20 minutes. You are using a macroinfusion set (10 gtts/ml). What will you set your drip rate at?
125gtts/min
A medication’s half-life refers to the:
Time required for the total dose to be reduced by 1/2
Two major divisions of pharmacology are:
Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics
Stimulation of the ________ results in pupillary constriction, digestive gland secretion, bronchoconstriction, and reduction in heart rate and contractile force.
Parasympathetic nervous system
Medical direction has ordered that you administer a medication to a patient that you believe will cause harm to the patient if administered. After reading back the order to medical direction, the physician insists that you give the medication. Which of the following BEST describes your next actions?
State your objectives, withhold the medication, and document carefully
An administration set suitable for administering large amounts of fluid to patients suffering from fluid loss would be a:
Macrodrip infusion set
You are ordered to administer 2 mg/min of lidocaine to a patient who has received a bolus of lidocaine during cardiac arrest. You have prepared the lidocaine by placing 1 gram in 250 cc of D5W. You are utilizing a microdrip (60 gtts/mL) administration set. What is the correct drip rate?
30gtts/min
When a fluid on one side of a cellular membrane contains a higher solute concentration than fluid on the other side, the fluid is said to be ________.
Hypertonic
Which of the following catheters should be used when initiating an intravenous line on an adult patient who may need large amounts of fluid?
16 gauge
