NUR2474: Pharmacology Module
1,2,3,6,8,10
NUR2474 Pharmacology Module 1 Quiz Review
Topics review:
- Characteristics of medications
a. Based on properties of the ideal drug:
i. Effectiveness: Why we take a certain drug to fix an issue in
the body. Does the drug work for what we need to correct?
ii. Safety: the drug cannot produce harmful adverse effects and
be safe to use and not kill us.
iii. Selectivity: The drug elicits the only response for what it is
given for. One thing only (i.e.: antihypertensive lowering BP
but also lowering amount of acid in the stomach).
iv. Reversible action: is there an antidote available if something
goes wrong. I.e.: naloxone given for opioid reversal.
v. Predictability: how it affects the body and exactly what occurs.
vi. Ease of administration: whether its PO, IV, IM, SC is it easy to
make a mistake or hard to and causes extra pain, need of supplies, etc.
vii. Freedom of drug interactions: does the drug interact with
other drugs or foods in certain ways that decrease its action or make it unsafe to use.
viii. Low cost: cheaper drugs will be easier for people to afford and
maintain.
ix. Chemical Stability: is it stable and easy to store.
x. Simple generic name: some can be complicated and hard to
pronounce. This is important so that people do not get confused with certain drugs. Generic= given by the government, Brand= company
- NO DRUG IS IDEAL!!!!!
- Properties of medicines to consider when prescribing to patients
a. Pharmacokinetics: how the drug moves its way through the body.
- Absorption: movement of drug from site of administration to 1 / 4
various tissues
1. Ex: PO med- intestines- liver (broken down)- blood; IV
med: straight into blood stream, IM med: straight into the muscle and then to bloodstream.
ii. Distribution: movement of the drug throughout the blood to
its site of action. If not enough blood or poor circulation, the medication cannot move well or work efficiently.
1. Ex: The PO med travels in the blood stream to the site of
pain. 2 / 4
iii. Metabolism: the chemical change of the drug to a more or
less potent form to act on the tissue.
- Intended med response occurs here
iv. Excretion: elimination of drug via kidneys, feces, sweat, air
v. Half-life: time it takes for a drug to decrease in amount by ½.
Shows us how fast or slow a drug is absorbed and what type of dosing schedule we should initiate.vi. 1 st
Pass Effect: amount of the drug that is inactivated at
metabolism that is decreased in what is taken
- Why we may give a loading dose for first dose of a medication.
vii. Bioavailability: amount of drug available after passing through the liver.
viii. Onset: amount of time for first therapeutic effect to be seen
ix. Peak: time it takes for full therapeutic effect to been seen
x. Duration: how long the therapeutic effect lasts.
- Patient specific variabilities affecting response to medications
- Body weight and composition
b. Age: infants have immature organs while older adults have organ
degeneration and slower response and reaction times w/ increased diseases and multiple drug treatments
c. Diseases: kidney disease- makes it harder for excretion and for
increased drug levels in the body from retention; liver disease- reduced metabolism and increased toxicity occurs if the liver cannot break down a med sufficiently; acid/base imbalance- ph. change and alter the kinetics of a drug; dehydration or imbalance electrolytes can cause impact on drug use.
d. Tolerance: how much of a med your body needs to become
therapeutic and work over time. Decreased responsiveness over time.
- Pharmacodynamics
- The biochemical changes in the body from a drug.
- Focused on the therapeutic, side and adverse effects on the body and
secondary effects
c. Agonist: are molecules that activate receptors. They increase a
response that can be good or bad.
d. Antagonist: they block receptor activation.
e. Partial antagonist: has some receptor activity but can also block the
activity.
- Routes of medication administration and their qualities (benefits vs dangers) 3 / 4
a. PO: easiest to give, but can be a danger for one with dysphagia,
longer time it takes for action, decreased bioavailability due to 1 st
pass effect.
b. SC: goes directly into the tissues and blood stream, has some pain
associated with it and have to rotate sites.
c. IM: goes directly into the muscle. Have to know how to properly
give the injection and that it may cause mild pain in some people
d. IV: goes directly into the vein and acts the fastest due to skipping
absorption and distribution. Have to have a skill set to inset an IV and to maintain it. Can cause mild pain to patients too.
e. Topical: easy to apply but you have to do so with gloves. May need
to dose multiple as it can wear off.
- If it can be reversed= it can be safe to use!
- / 4