Generic Names
Category
Side Effects
Nurse Consideration/Teaching
Mechanism of Action
100

This direct-acting skeletal muscle relaxant is used as a life-saving treatment for malignant hyperthermia.

What is Dantrolene (Dantrium)

100

This class of oral antidiabetic agents works by allowing natural gut hormones to work with insulin to lower glucagon secretion from the pancreas and delay gastric emptying.

What are DPP-4 Inhibitors (Gliptins) / Alogliptin (Nesina)?

100

This antibiotic can cause a bitter taste, ototoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and a reddish rash known as Vancomycin Flushing Syndrome if the infusion rate is too fast.

What is Vancomycin?

100

 This oral antidiabetic medication must be held 24 to 48 hours before a procedure using contrast dye, and patients are advised to avoid alcohol to prevent lactic acidosis.

What is Metformin (Glucophage)?

100

This antidiabetic medication works by stimulating the kidneys to increase the amount of glucose excreted in the urine.

What is Canagliflozin (Invokana)?

200

This rapid-acting insulin has an onset of 15 minutes, a peak of 1 hour, and a duration of 3 to 5 hours.

What is Lispro (Humalog) / Aspart (NovoLog)?

200

This classification of medications—which includes drugs like Midazolam and Lorazepam—is used to produce memory loss, sedation, and to treat acute anxiety or seizures.

What are Benzodiazepines / Anxiolytics?

200

This weight management agent and lipase inhibitor causes gastrointestinal side effects such as oily or fatty stools, oily spotting in undergarments, and an urgent need to use the bathroom.

What is Orlistat (Xenical)?

200

Nursing considerations for this life-saving medication require mixing it exclusively with sterile water for an IV push injection due to its use in treating malignant hyperthermia.

What is Dantrolene (Dantrium)?  

200

This antithyroid agent inhibits the production of new thyroid hormone in the thyroid gland by blocking the enzyme thyroid peroxidase.

What is Propylthiouracil (PTU)?  

300

This glycopeptide and bactericidal antibiotic can cause a reddish rash known as Vancomycin Flushing Syndrome if infused too quickly.

What is Vancomycin?

300

 This classification of medications includes agents like Dantrolene, which is used to treat malignant hyperthermia, and Succinylcholine, which is used as an adjunct to general anesthesia.

What are Skeletal Muscle Relaxants / Neuromuscular Blockers?  

300

This antidiabetic medication can lead to dehydration due to increased urination, urinary tract infections that may progress to urosepsis, and a risk for ketoacidosis.

What is Canagliflozin (Invokana)?

300

Patient education for this gastrointestinal agent advises taking a multivitamin two hours before or after the medication because it blocks fat absorption.

What is Orlistat (Xenical)?

300

This antiemetic blocks postsynaptic mesolimbic dopaminergic receptors in the brain and inhibits an adrenergic solid-blocking effect for post-operative nausea and vomiting control.

What is Promethazine (Phenergan)?  

400

This opioid antagonist blocks opioid receptors in the brain to reverse opioid overdoses and respiratory depression.

What is Naloxone (Narcan)?

400

This classification of medications includes agents like Metoclopramide, Ondansetron, and Promethazine, which are used to control and prevent nausea and vomiting.

What are Antiemetics?

400

This oral antidiabetic agent carries potential side effects including increased hunger, persistent abdominal pain pointing toward peritonitis risks, and shortness of breath or cough associated with heart failure.

What is Alogliptin (Nesina)?  

400

Nursing considerations for this medication require monitoring trough levels just prior to the next dose (target: 10 to 15 mcg/mL) and peak levels 1 to 2 hours after the IV dose is complete.

What is Vancomycin?  

400

This oral antidiabetic medication allows natural gut hormones to work with insulin to lower glucagon secretion from the pancreas while delaying gastric emptying.

What is Alogliptin (Nesina)?

500

This antiarrhythmic and antimuscarinic agent is used to treat bradycardia and to reduce pre-operative salivation and bronchial secretions.

What is Atropine Sulfate?

500

This specific drug class includes Cephazolin and Vancomycin, which are utilized to treat bacterial infections or provide surgical prophylaxis.

What are Antibiotics / Antimicrobials?

500

This anesthetic induction agent carries a black box warning for severe tissue injury when infiltrated via IV infusion.

What is Propofol (Diprivan)?

500

Patient education for this medication instructs the patient to report persistent abdominal pain due to an increased risk of peritonitis, as well as shortness of breath or cough associated with heart failure.

What is Alogliptin (Nesina)?

500

This neurological and anticonvulsant agent affects chemicals and nerves by acting on GABA cells and binding to calcium channels in the brain to decrease synapse transmission.

What is Gabapentin (Neurontin)?

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