Lets Talk about Pharm
What are the aspects needed to be included in a medication order?
Name of patient, drug, dose, route, frequency, signature of provider.
Why is it important to assess kidney function before beginning a drug regimen?
Kidneys are the primary site for excretion. We must be able to determine if a patient can excrete drugs properly otherwise toxicity will occur.
What is a loading dose?
A larger dose initially to help get the drug to an optimal level in the body faster.
What is pharmacogenomics?
The study of medications in relation to our genetic makeup.
What are some examples of super-infections? What causes a super-infection?
C-Diff, yeast, thrush -
We give an anti-infective and it wipes out not only the infective agent we are treating, but also the normal good flora in our bodies, leading to superinfections to occur.
If we are converting from cups to milliliters, what systems are we converting from and to?
household to metric units of measure
What organ is responsible for metabolism of medications?
The liver
What is the first-pass effect?
When a drug is given orally, they are carried directly to the liver after absorption, where they may be largely inactivated by the liver enzymes before they can enter the general circulation. This explains why oral meds are given at higher doses than infection, intranasally, SL, or buccal.
What is a peak and a trough?
A peak is the highest concentration of medication in the body (normally 30 min-1hour after a med has been given).
A trough is the lowest concentration of medication in the body (normally right before the next dose is given).
What are the main things we teach our patient when they get a prescription for antibiotics?
Take all the antibiotics (don't save some for later), at the right time intervals, use an alternative form of birth control.
How do you know that an antiinfective has a therapeutic effect?
The patient's symptoms of infection improve.
Ciprofloxacin has an interesting adverse effect. What is it?
What is the allergic reaction that can be deadly?
What do drugs in the same drug class have in common?
They all the same mechanism of action when they are in one class.
What does bactericidal mean? Bacteriostatic?
Bactericidal means to kill bacteria. Bacteriostatic means to slow the growth/replication.
What does it mean if a drug has an "off-label" use?
The use of a drug that is not yet approved by the FDA.
Synergistic effect
What lab test is crucial when a patient has an infection?
culture and sensitivity
What is selective toxicity?
Selective toxicity is the ability of a drug to kill foreign cells without causing harm to one's own body cells.
If a patient is taking an aminoglycoside, what are the two main adverse effects that can occur?
ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity
If a patient is allergic to a Penicillin, what other class of antibiotics are they most likely allergic to?
Cephalosporins
What is a teratogen
A medication that causes birth defects.
What antibiotic do we never give to pregnant women, or children less than 8 years of age? Why?
Tetracycline, because it causes birth defects and can change a child's baby teeth green.
When drugs cause unwanted effects, what are those effects called?
Adverse effects
If an antiinfective is good for treating one specific type of bacteria, is it broad spectrum or narrow spectrum?
Narrow