Pharmacology Principles - Study Guide Test 3
Nursing Process for Medication Administration
● Assessment-gather data
● Diagnosis-draw a conclusion from data
● Planning-formulate care plan
● Implementation- activate care plan
● Evaluation- determine if plan was effective
o Therapeutic effectiveness
o Timing: PO vs IV- IV fastest route, PO slowest route
Dosage Calculations
Adverse effect- severe, unintended medication reactions
● Some unintended secondary effects are mild, predictable, and may be tolerated as part of the therapy, these are often referred to as
side effects. adverse reactions can be severe and may require discontinuation of the drug, depending on whether the benefit of the
drug outweighs the harm from the adverse effect. Serious adverse effects considered adverse events or sentinel events must be
documented according to policy and reported to a national database.
Allergic Reaction- unpredictable immune response to med; body thinks drug is foreign substance and forms antibodies against the drug.
symptoms: rash, urticaria, fever, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Anaphylaxis is life threatening and results in respiratory distress, sudden
severe bronchospasm, and cardiovascular collapse
Anaphylaxis- serious allergic reaction, throat begins to swell etc…
Brand name- the name brand created by the actual company and copyrighted; also called a trade name; selected by the pharmaceutical
company that sells the drug and is protected by trademark
Control Substance Act- 1970- defined drug abuse and classified drugs as to their abuse potential- strict control over distribution, storage
and use of these drugs-DEA got control over coding and enforcing coding (FDA helped code)- schedule 1&2 high abuse potential drugs! The
prescription, distribution, storage, and use of controlled substance drugs are closely monitored by the DEA to decrease substance abuse of
prescribed medications. Each prescriber has a DEA number which allows the DEA to monitor prescription patterns and possible abuse
DEA (drug enforcement agency) and considerations for nurse administering narcotics
Drug intolerance- inability to tolerate the adverse effects of a medicine (generally at the therapeutic drug level)
Drug to drug interaction- occurs any time two or more drugs are taken together, can occur any time during ADME
FDA- food and drug administration; regulates the testing and approval of all drugs in the US. To be approved for marketing, a drug must
pass through animal studies, testing on healthy humans, selected testing on people with the disease being treated, and then broad testing
on people with the disease being treated.
First pass effect- liver metabolizes drugs 1st- single most important site for biotransformation; drugs given orally are carried directly to the
liver after absorption where they may be largely inactivated by liver enzymes before they can enter the general circulation. oral drugs are
frequently given in higher doses because of this early breakdown
Generic name- the name by which the drug is identified in official publications, such as the US Pharmacopeia- assigned by manufacturer-not
copyrighted; identifies the drug’s active ingredient. generic name often derived from the chemical name
Half-life- time it takes for half of the drug dose to leave the body- affected by ADME; time it takes for the amount of drug in the body to
decrease to one half of the peak level it previously achieved.
Medication rights- right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time, right documentation, right assessment, right evaluation, right
education, right response, right to refuse
Medication routes- oral, topical, transdermal, inhalation, sublingual, intrathecal (CSF), buccal, rectal, vaginal, enteral (via GI tract)
● parenteral: administered by needle. SubQ, intradermal, intramuscular, intravenous. other less common ones: intrathecal/intraspinal,
epidural, intraarticular (joint), intra-arterial, intracardiac, interosseous (into bone marrow)
Pharmacodynamics- science of dealing with interactions between living organisms and foreign chemicals-behavior of med at cellular level
to produce a biologic response
Pharmacology Principles - Study Guide Test 3
Pharmacokinetics-movement of drugs throughout the body via ADME-how a drug enters the body, moves through the body and actually
leaves the body
Pharmacotherapeutics- clinical pharmacology - the branch of pharmacology that deals with drugs; chemicals that are used in medicine for
the treatment, prevention, and diagnosis of disease in humans. Clinical pharmacology addresses two key concerns: the drug’s effects on the
body and the body’s response to the drug.
Protein binding- most drugs are bound to some extent to proteins in the blood to be carried into circulation. The more bound to the
protein, the more difficult it can be for the medication to be released and able to cross membranes to get to the tissue cells. The drug must
be freed from the protein’s binding site to act on the tissues. Some drugs are tightly bound and released very slowly so they have a long
duration because they are not free to be broken down or excreted. Some drugs are loosely bound, they tend to act quickly and to be
excreted quickly. Some drugs compete with each other for protein binding sites, alternating effectiveness or causing toxicity when the two
drugs are given together.
Review the Medication Notes Handout & Introduction to Pharmacology Notes
Side effect- predictable, unwanted reactions to medications, sometimes unavoidable
Synergistic effects- drugs that work together to increase drug effectiveness
Therapeutic effect-desired result or action of a medication
Tissue damage- skin- rashes, hives, stomatitis (inflamed mucous membranes); superinfections- due to destruction of body’s natural flora;
blood dyscrasia- bone marrow suppression; kidney and liver toxicity and/or enzymatic changes; altered glucose metabolism; electrolyte
imbalance; ocular or auditory damage; CNS effects; Parkinson-like syndrome; teratogenicity (fetal or embryonic effects)
Tolerance to medications- reduced reaction to a med following repeated use
Toxic effect- result of med overdose or toxicity due to med buildup in the blood (can be impaired metabolism or excretion)
Trade name- brand name copyrighted by the company that sells the drug, same as brand name
medication-drug specifically used for therapeutic effect on physiologic function
drug-any substance that either positively or negatively alters physiologic function
ADME
Absorption- Route- the way the drug gets into the bloodstream; what happens to a drug from the time it enters the body until it enters the
circulating fluid
Distribution-Transportation- Delivery to the site of action; movement of a drug to body tissues
Metabolism- Most common: Liver- Drug is altered to less active form
Excretion- Common site: Kidneys- Removal of less active form of drug; primarily occurs in the kidneys, but can also occur through the skin,
lungs, bile, or feces
OTHER:
- ABSORPTION RATE BASED ON ROUTE: Drugs given orally usually take the longest to be absorbed, with liquids that do not need to be
dissolved having a faster absorption rate than capsules or tablets. Drugs injected IM or SubQ are usually absorbed more rapidly than
oral medications. Drugs administered IV are placed directly into the bloodstream, thus technically are not absorbed and take effect
quickly
- PARTS OF MEDICATION ORDER:1) patient's name and secondary identifier 2) date and time the order is written 3) name of drug to be
administered 4) dosage of the drug 5) route 6) frequency 7) signature of the prescribing provider
