pharmacology

chapter 1

any substance that is taken to prevent, cure, or reduce symptoms of a medical condition

when someone is dehydrated, water (saline) solution may be infused into patient to treat a condition

when someone with a vit c deficiency may be administered to cure scurvy

study of medicine

application of drugs for prevention of disease and treatment of suffering

expansive subject from understanding how drugs are administered, where they traveled in the body and the actual response they produce

begins when the patient experience signs and symptoms that cause dissatisfaction in health status

nurse's role in pharmacology

drugs may elicit different responses depending on pt. factors:

goal of pharmacotherapy

classification of drug

-drugs that offer treatment of disease
-what is being treated by the drug
-uses prefixe anti-

Pneumonia - use of antibiotic

-describe how the drug acts
-drug mechanism of action
-uses drug's chemical name

underactive thyroid gland - supplement with synthetic thyroid

drugs that overlap into different or both therapeutic and/or pharmacologic classifications

HTN meds beta blockers
-lowers bp (P)
-therapeutically use to treat migrain (T)

compare all drugs in a classification to one particular drug
-ex: others kinds of hormone secretion meds are developed and compared to Prozac which makes it the prototype

-related to chemical and molecular structure
-uses standard nomenclature
ex. Acetylsalicylic Acid

-derived from chemical name
-less complicated and easy to remember
-only one generic name for each drug
ex: Aspirin

-proprietary name given by manufacturer
-"brand name"
ex. Ecotrin (aspirin)

competing companies are not allowed to market generic versions of product

drug with more thatn one active generic ingredient

-rate of extent to which active ingredient is absorbed from a drug product and becomes available at site of drug action to produce its effect
-measure how long a drug takes to exert its effect
-compre brand name drugs and their generic equivalents

nurse's responsibilities:

chapter 2

-inform the public and protect them from unsafe and ineffective products
-protect the public so they can receive safe meds

-ability to legally make or sell a drug
-contained a clearly indentified brand name
-often harmless (ineffective) containing coloring, flavoring or aromatic subs
-cocaine heroin and morphine were distributed to these meds

-keep records of dispensed narcotic drugs
-ILLEGAL to possess narcotics WITHOUT prescription
-precribe narcotics only for treatment. not to addicts

prevent the sale of drugs that has not been thoroughly tested for safety before marketing

difference between safer drugs, which may be sold OTC or require prescriptions

-development of drugs to treat rare or unusual disorders
-legislation and drug manufacturers offered dev't grants and expenses to approved orphan drugs

clear labelling of dietary supplements and remove supplements that cause a significant public risk

provide seniors and those with disabilities a prescription drug benefit under medicare

Drug Standards:

medical reference summarizing standards of drug purity, strength and directions for synthesis

every pill in a bottle has the same ingredient as th other pill

-protect the public health by assuring efficacy, safety and security
-speed innovations that make medicines and foods more effective, safer and affordable
-get accurate science-based info

drug approval process

1st stage, extensive lab testing
-perform testingon human and animals to examine drug effectiveness
-goal is to determine drug action and predict whether drug will cause harm to human
-FDA does not regulate this testing

pharmaceutical company sumbits an application to FDA that contains animal and cell testing data

2nd stage, longest part of drug approval
includes 3 different stages

focuses on safety/ 20-80 health volunteers

-focuses on effectiveness and safety, several hundred pt.
-effectiveness compared to Placebo

drug-drug interactions
large # of pt with diseases are given the drug to determines pt variability

signals pharmaceutical company that the drug is ready to sell

stage 4 of drug approval process
survey for harmful drug effects in larger population

predominantly used in drug research

excluded due to hoemonal changes and pregnancy

in order to obtain a prescrption drug:

do not require an order from a health care provider. may treat themselves if instructions are followed properly

why pt. prefer OTC than Prescription drugs?

former RX drugs that are now OTC

drugs that have significant potential for abuse, 5 categories of schedules
-regulated according to their potential for abuse
-locked in cabinet

highest addictive, not accepted for medical use/treatment in US, not allowed to prescribe
ex: Heorin, LSD, Peyote

-highest addictive, drug has accepted to be used for treatments in US with severe restrictions
-ex: must use special order form, written and sign by provider to obtain the drug; telephone orders are not permitted
Ex: opioids (morphine), demerol, dilaudid

less potential for addiction, currently accepted in medical use treatment in US
-ex: codaine, hydrocodone, immediate-acting barbituates

lower potential for addiction, accepted medical use for treatment in US
Ex: Benzodiazipines, long-acting barbituates

lowest potential for addiction, currently accepted medical use in US
Ex: cough medicines with codaine, lomotil