Chapter 10 Key Terms
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API)
Any substance in a compounded preparation that confers pharmacological activity.
- Calibrate
To gauge or adjust a measuring instrument to match a standard scale of reading.
- Compounded Sterile Preparation
A medication prepared with aseptic technique in a sterile, cleanroom facility.
- Excipients
Inactive ingredients used in drug formulations that do not confer pharmacological activity.
SOB
shortness of breath
- Agglomerations
Clusters, lumps, or clumps of ingredients in a liquid, semiliquid, or powdered vehicle that are undesired in compounding.
- Class III Prescription Balance
A two-pan balance used to weigh material between 120 mg and 120 g, with a sensitivity of ±6 mg; also known as a Class A balance.
- Compounding
The process of preparing a medication for an individual patient from bulk ingredients based on a licensed prescriber’s order.
- Extemporaneous Compounding
The preparation of a medication for a specific patient’s immediate need when it is not commercially available; also known as nonsterile compounding.
q.w.
every week
- Autoclave
A device that generates heat and pressure to sterilize objects, instruments, and measuring devices.
- Comminution
The act of reducing a substance to small, fine particles using techniques like trituration, levigation, or pulverization.
- Compounding Record
A document or printout used to record the ingredients, weights, calculations, and instructions used to compound a specific medication.
- Forceps
A stainless steel instrument resembling tweezers, used to handle small objects such as weights.
PA
prior authorization
- Beyond Use Date (BUD)
The date after which a drug should not be used once it has been removed from its intact container.
- Component
An ingredient in a compounded product.
- Diluent
An inactive ingredient added to the active drug in a compounded product to achieve proper volume, consistency, or concentration.
- Geometric Dilution Method
A method that gradually combines several active and inactive ingredients to produce a uniform mixture using a mortar and pestle.
o.d.
right eye
- Blending
The act of combining two substances using nongrinding techniques such as spatulation, sifting, or tumbling.
- Compounded Preparation
A patient-specific medication prepared from individual ingredients according to a prescription.
- Emollient
An ointment base that softens and soothes the skin and helps hold moisture.
- Graduated Cylinder
A calibrated cylinder used to accurately measure the volume of liquids.
ID
intradermal