Week 1 - Pharmacology Flashcards
What is the chemical name of a drug?
A description of the composition and molecular structure of the chemical
What is a generic name of a drug?
The official name which typically is related to its drug group
What are the properties of an ideal drug?
Reversible action
Predictable
Easily administered
Free of drug interactions
Low cost
Chemically stable
Has a simple generic name
How are drugs classified?
By effect on body systems
By therapeutic use or indications
By chemical action
Prescription/OTC/illegal
What is a prototype drug?
One drug that represents a group of drugs
Define pharmaceutics:
Study of how DOSAGE influences how body metabolizes drug and how drug AFFECTS BODY
Dosage form can determine what?
Rate that the drug dissolution occurs (when drug becomes active)
Define pharmacokinetics:
Study of what the body does to the drug and WHERE it moves through
What are the 4 components of pharmacokinetics?
Absorption
Distribution
Metabolism
Excretion
Define absorption:
Movement of the drug from where it is administered into the bloodstream
What are some factors that affect drug absorption?
Flood/fluids administered with the drug
Dosage formulation
Status of absorptive surface
Rate of blood flow
Acidity of stomach
Status of GI motility
Describe the First-Pass effect:
The drug must be metabolized by the liver before it is available/active to the system
Define distribution:
The transport of a drug via the bloodstream to its site of action
Where in the body does drugs in the bloodstream move to first?
Areas that are extensively supplied with blood (e.g. liver, heart, kidneys, brain)
Define metabolism (of drugs):
The transformation of a drug into usable compounds/active metabolites OR inactivates
What can slowed drug metabolism cause?
Accumulation of the drug
Prolonged effects
What can stimulated drug metabolism cause?
Diminished effects
When do prodrugs become active?
AFTER metabolism
Define excretion (of drug):
Elimination of drug from body
Where does drug elimination occur?
Mostly kidneys
Also liver and bowel
(sometimes skin and lungs)
Define half-life:
The time it takes for half of a given drug dose to be removed from the body
Typically it takes how many half-lives to fully eliminate a drug from the body?
5 half-lives
What does the half-life determine?
How long the drug is effective and how often it should be administered
Define pharmacodynamics:
What the drug does to the body (interaction of drug with sites of activity)
Define therapeutics effect:
The intended positive change a drug makes
(alters function, cannot create new function)
What are 4 drug-related variables?
Dosage
Route
Drug-diet interactions
Drug-drug interactions
Who supervises new drug development and clinical trials?
FDA
What are Schedule I drugs?
Drugs with no accepted medical use and are HIGHLY addictive
(e.g. LSD, MDMA, heroin)
What are Schedule II drugs?
Drugs that are used medically but are HIGHLY addictive
(e.g. opioids (codeine, methadone, oxycodone, morphine), CNS stimulants (cocaine, methamphetamine) and barbituate sedatives (pentobarbital)
What are Schedule III drugs?
Drugs that are slightly less addictive but can lead to psychological/physical dependence
(e.g. steroids, ketamine, some CNS stimulants)
What are Schedule IV drugs?
Drugs that are medically accepted but have some potential for abuse
(e.g. benzodiazepines, sedatives, appetite suppressants)
What are Schedule V drugs?
Drugs with moderate amounts of controlled substances but do not require prescription but has restrictions and safeguards in place to prevent abuse
A drug label must have what on it?
Name and dosage
What is synergism?
When 2 drugs used together increase the effects more than the sum of their individual effects
A nurse administers a drug. What’s next?
Monitor the drug effects
What are the 6 rights?
Right patient
Right Medication
Right Dosage
Right Route
Right Time
Right Documentation
What are the 3 med checks? Where do they take place?
- Check order from prescriber (at computer/MAR)
- Check Medication against MAR (at computer/dispenser)
- Check at bedside (right patient, MAR, and drug)
What are 7 essential components of a medication order?
Full name/DOB/MRN
Date/Time written
Name of medication
Dosage
Route
Time and frequency
Prescriber signature
How long does a nurse have to give a mediation for it to be “on time”?
60 minutes
Can be administered between 30 min before and 30 min after time
What are the essential components of a Medication Administration Record (MAR)?
Client info (Name, DOB, MRN)
Allergies
Date (when it was prescribed, start and stop dates)
Medication name
Time to administer med
Provider signature
Special Instructions (such as “if BP is over …” etc.)
What are a few reasons why a nurse would need to verify an order with a provider?
Dosage out of normal range
Medication seems inappropriate for patient
Patient says it is the wrong medication
Route is inappropriate
What is medication reconciliation?
Asking a patient about the medications they are currently taking at home and documenting them
When should the medication reconciliation occur?
Within an hour of the patient’s admission
Who is responsible for the medication reconciliation?
Nurse
Body weight affects drug action mainly in relation to
dosage
A single large dose or repeated small doses can lead to what?
Toxic concentrations
What drug is used to relieve respiratory depression associated with morphine?
Naloxone
During pregnancy, drugs can harm the fetus by passing through what?
The placenta
What is the “universal antidote”?
Activated charcoal
Insulin syringes hold up to how many mL?
100 mL
What is an idiosyncratic response?
an unusual or opposite effect of what is intended
Parts of a nursing diagnosis
(1) A description of the problem, response, or state (i.e. activity intolerance)
(2) Identification of factors etiologically related to the problem (not the medical diagnosis) (i.e. R/T inadequate oxygenation)
(3) Signs and symptoms that are characteristics of the problem (i.e. pt states dizziness etc.)
Diagnostic label
the name of the nursing diagnosis as approved by NANDA International (Ex. Ineffective airway clearance)
