Topical Medications Flashcards
The success of dermatologic therapies is dependent upon several factors such as?
- Correct diagnosis
- Type of lesion being treated
- Medication being used
- Vehicle (the base in which the active medication is delivered)
- Method used to apply the medication
If the correct medication but the wrong vehicle is used, the response to therapy may be delayed, inadequate or even worsened
Examples:
1. Using a glucocorticoid gel on hand eczema and fissures will cause what?
- Treating a moist lesion with an ointment may cause what?
- increased pain and stinging due to the alcohol base of the gel
- folliculitis secondary to its occlusive properties
- What is a vehicle or base?
- What does the vehicle determine?
- Components of the base - may cause irritation or allergic response? 6
- Substance in which the active ingredient is dispersed
- Vehicle (base) determines the rate at which the active ingredient is absorbed through the skin
- Strength of the topical dependent
- Solvents
- Stabilizers
- Emollients
- Humectants
- Thickening agents
- Emulsifying agents
Both the vehicle and the active medication need to be appropriate for the skin disease:
“If it’s wet, dry it; if it’s dry, wet it”
- Acute contact dermatitis from poison ivy–moist deep lesions? How to treat?
- Chronic psoriasis—a dry lesion:
How should we treat? - In general, acute inflammation is treated with what?
- chronic inflammation is treated with what?
- Lotions will help “dry up” the dermatitis
- Will also provide cool, soothing relief - Chronic psoriasis—a dry lesion:
- Creams or ointments help to retain native moisture
- Provide relief to dry, itching skin - aqueous drying preparations
- greasier, lubricating compounds
- Tachyphylaxis is what?
- When does it occur?
- Solution? 2
- A progressive decrease in clinical response due to repetitive application of a drug (i.e. glucocorticoids)
- Occurs when the body becomes tolerant to the pharmacotherapeutic effects of a particular medication
- Solution:
- Allow for drug free intervals
- Switch at various times to alternative agents
Vehicles consist of three basic ingredients:
3
- Powder
- Oils
- Liquids
Combinations of these three ingredients in varying proportions make up the most commonly used vehicles
Types of vehicles?
11
- Powders 2. Shampoos
- Solutions 4. Foam
- Tinctures
- Lotions
- Oils
- Ointments
- Creams
- Gels
- Aerosols & Sprays
- Powders help with what?
- Primarily used where? To do what? 3
- What are solutions?
- What are tinctures? What negative effects may these cause?
Powders:
- Aid in
- absorbing moisture,
- decrease friction and
- help cover wide areas easily - Primarily used in intertriginous areas to reduce
- moisture,
- maceration and
- friction - lotions with very minimal oil or solid content, but with active ingredients. (e.g. Visine)
- Alcoholic or hydroalcoholic solutions
- may cause pain and irritation on erosions and abrasions
- What is the vehicle that consists of suspension of powder in water considered least potent topical therapies?
- Considered what kind of agents?
- lotion
- Considered drying (even emollient lotions)
- As lotions evaporate they cool and dry
- What are shake lotions?
- What are emollient lotions?
- With emollients what happens as the water evaporates?
- these are useful in what areas? 2
- solids are suspended within (e.g. Calamine lotion)
- Emollient lotions: oils are dispersed in the water usually with surfactant (to make them miscible)
- Emollients leave a slight residue as the water evaporates (e.g. Vaseline intensive care lotion)
- Useful in
- hairy areas and
- conditions where large areas have to be treated
- What are Creams?
- Penetrates what part of the skin well?
- They can be washed off with what?
- Advantage?
- Disadvantage?
- Compare their potency to lotions and oitnments?
- Semisolid emulsions of oil in water about equal proportion
- Penetrates the stratum corneum of the skin well**
- They can be washed off with water
- Cosmetically appealing
- Can cause more adverse reactions because of preservatives
- For the same medication they are stronger than lotions but less potent than ointments
- What is an ointment?
- Desirable for what kind of lesions? Why?
- Facilitates what kind of retention?
- Potency?
- Generally the most potent vehicle due to what?
- why dont pts like them? - Used mostly in what?
- not useful in what areas?
- Ointments:
- Consist of water droplets suspended in the continuous phase of oil (mineral oil) or of inert bases such as petrolatum (Vaseline) - Most lubricating and moisturizing and thus desirable for dryer lesions
- Facilitates heat retention, they are semiocclusive
- Greater penetration of medicines than creams and therefore enhanced potency**
- their occlusive effect, but
- patient acceptance may be low because they are greasy - Useful for
- dry dermatoses in non seborrheic, non intertriginous (mostly yeast) areas - Not useful in hairy areas
- What are gels?
- Consists of what? 2
- Advantages?
- What kind of agent? Used for what areas?
- Useful for what where other vehicles mat the hair? 2
- Useful for treating what else?
- Gels:
Transparent semisolid emulsion that liquefies on contact with skin, drying as a thin, greaseless, non-occlusive film - Consist of a hydrophilic base with water or acetone (avoid acetone on sensitive skin)
- Combines the best therapeutic advantages of ointments with the best cosmetic advantages of creams
- Considered drying and are used in seborrheic areas (face, chest)
- exudative inflammation (poison ivy) and in
- scalp and hair-bearing areas
- Useful for treating acne (Retin-A)**
- Aerosols and sprays are what?
- Considered to be what kind of agent?
- Disadvantage?
- Most frequently used in the what?
- Sprays: alcohol based solutions, pressurized and delivered as an aerosol
- drying
- Wasteful (much of the active medication does not reach the skin)
- scalp
- Foams: are what?
- Advantages?
- Disadvantage?
- Pressurized collections of gaseous bubbles in a matrix of liquid film
- Easy to spread and apply especially to the scalp
- They are complex to make and can be more expensive
- Shampoos are used primarily for what?
- The main educational point is that the shampoo must usually be left on for _________ after application for the medication to be effective before being rinsed off
- Used primary for seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp
2. 5-7 minutes
- The strength of a topical medication is dependent on the what?
In general:
- What are more potent than creams of equal concentration?
- Creams are usually more potent than what?
Exception:
4._______ in gel form and solutions are more effective and more irritating than cream form
- vehicle**
- Ointment forms of topical corticosteroids
- lotions
- Retin-A
- – most potent?
- – potent?
- – least potent?
- Ointment/Gel
- Cream
- Lotion
Amount to dispense
1. One gram of cream will cover an area of skin approximately what area?
- The same amount of ointment will cover an area of what size?
- Total body application of different vehicles averages ______ grams for adults
- 10 cm x 10 cm
- 5 - 10% larger
- 30 - 60
Topical Glucocorticoids
MOA? 4
(pass through what, cause what things? 3)
The more potent the topical corticosteroid the more what?
-which causes less what? 2
Corticosteroids
- pass through the stratum corneum and
- cause vasoconstriction,
- decrease inflammation and
- inhibit cellular proliferation
- more vasoconstriction,
- less inflammation, and
- less proliferation
How can you rank potency of topical glucocorticoids?
The vasoconstriction of normal skin can be quantified and serves as a parameter by which topical steroids are ranked in potency
Topical Glucocorticoids
Indications? 4
- Therapy of choice for most inflammatory conditions
- Pruritic eruptions (dermatitis)
- Hyperplastic disorders (psoriasis)
- Infiltrative disorders (sarcoid)
Topical Corticosteroids
Desirable qualities of corticosteroids?
6
- Broad applicability in treatment of numerous diseases
- Rapid action with small dose
- Ease of use: no odor or pain
- Lack of sensitization
- Prolonged stability
- Compatible with most other topical medications
Topical Corticosteriods: Adverse reactions.
Suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary system:
1. Particularly what agents?
- Happens in what kind of doses?
- Which will cause suppression with only 2 grams?
- Risk greatest with what? 3
- Except in _______, the mildest of steroids (hydrocortisone) is unlikely to result in systemic complications
- Particularly Class I agents
- Adults applying a potent steroid in excess of 50 - 100 grams weekly (10 - 20 grams in small children), for > 2 weeks may cause suppression
- (Clobetasol (the strongest) known to cause suppression with only 2 grams!)
- Risk greatest with
- more potent steroids,
- with damage to the stratum corneum or
- in thin skin such as in children - infants
Topical Corticosteriods Adverse Reactions (Local)? 4
Common in any steriod use of what duration?
Burning, itching or dryness usually due to what?
- Atrophy and telangiectasias are frequent in potent steroids or application to thin skin
- Irreversible stretch marks (striae distensae)
- Skin fragility and easy bruising may occur in chronic use
- Steroid rosacea
Common in any steroid use > 2 weeks duration
Burning, itching, or dryness are usually due to the vehicle
Regional differences in percutaneous absorption percentage wise:
7 from least to most absorption?
- Sole of foot - 0.14%
- Palm – 0.83%
- Forearm – 1%
- Scalp – 3.5%
- Forehead - 6.0%
- Cheek - 13.0%
- Genitalia - 42.0%
Topical Corticosteroids
1. Absorption is increased with increased what?
- Should be applied to what to achieve optimal penetration and efficacy?
- Inflamed skin has _________ penetration!!
- Ointments allow better what and are therefore more potent than creams and lotions?
- One exception is the super-potent topical, ___________________, which is packaged in a cream vehicle?
- skin hydration
- moist skin after bathing or soaking in water
- increased
- percutaneous drug absorption
- betamethasone dipropionate
Topical Corticosteroids
Seven Classes, Four groups: What are they?
- Super potent (Class I)
- Potent (Class II to III)
- Intermediate (Class IV to V)
- Mild (Classes VI to VII)
- Super potent topical steroids are used for what?
- Useful over what areas? 2
- Examples: 3
- severe dermatoses over non-facial/non-intertriginous areas
- palms and soles
- Psoriasis
- Severe atopic dermatitis
- Severe contact dermatitis
- What are appropriate for mild to moderate non-facial/non-intertriginous dermatoses?
- What should be considered when large areas are treated because of the likelihood of systemic absorption?
- What should be used for treating eyelid and genital dermatoses?
- Intermediate to potent strength
- Mild to intermediate strength
- Mild strength
- Mild strength SE and time reccommendations?
- Potent and intermediate strength SE and time reccommendations?
- Super potent strength SE and time reccommendations?
- Rarely cause side effects, but intermittent therapy may be preferable to continuous therapy for the long-term treatment of large skin areas
- Rarely cause side effects if used for less than 6 to 8 weeks, except on the face and intertriginous areas
- Should not exceed three weeks if possible
- Persistent lesions on small areas may be treated for a longer time