PHARMACOLOGY REVIEWER Generic Name- May be used in any country and by

any manufacturer. The 1st letter of the generic

Pharma- medicine name is not capitalized.
Logos- study Brand Name- names given by the company that
Pharmacotherapeutics or Clinical Pharmacology makes the drug deliberately made easier to
-branch of pharmacology that uses drug to pronounce than spell and remember for marketing
treat, prevent and diagnose disease. purposes.
-Addresses 2 concerns: Drug’s effect on the Drug Label
body and the body’s response to the drugs.

Pharmacodynamics
-the study of how drugs affect the body.

Pharmacokinetics
-the study of how the body acts on the
drugs.

DRUGS
-chemical introduced in the body to cause
changes.
Medicinal Drugs
• Prevention
• Treatment
• Diagnosis
Non- Medicinal Drugs
• Recreational Purposes
Examples:
• Cannabis
• Heroine
• Cocaine
• Caffeine
• Nicotine
• Alcohol

Drugs Sources
• Plants
• Animal Products
• Inorganic Compounds
• Synthetic
FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
Nursing Responsibilities
- Agency of the DOH and Human services
• Administer drugs
that regulates the development and sale
• Assessing drugs effects of the drugs
• Intervening to make the drug regimen more - Guarantees the access of the general
tolerable public to safe, quality, pure efficacious
• Providing patient teaching about drugs and health products.
drug regimen Pre- Clinical Trials
• Monitoring the overall patient care plan to - Chemical that may have therapeutic
prevent medication errors value ae tested on a laboratory animals.
Two Purposes:
Drug Names 1. To determine whether they have
Chemical Name- Describes the drug’s chemical presumed effects in living tissue.
composition and molecular structure 2. To evaluate any adverse effects.
X Chemical lacks therapeutic activity when used Pharmacodynamics
with living animals. -the science dealing with interactions
X Chemical is too toxic to living animals to be between the chemical components of living
worth the risk of developing to drugs. systems and the foreign chemicals, including drugs
X The chemical is highly teratogenic. that enter those systems.
X The safety margins are so small that the 1. Onset of Action- time it takes to reach the
chemical would not be useful in the clinical setting. minimum effective concentration after the
is administered.
Phase I Studies 2. Peak of Action- occurs when the drug
-Use of human volunteers reaches its highest blood or plasma
- they are fully informed of possible risks and may concentration.
be paid for participation. (woman are not good 3. Duration of Action- length of time the drug
candidates their ova might be destroyed or alter.) has a pharmacological effect.
4. Agonist- produce a response.
X lack therapeutic effects in human 5. Antagonist- blocks a response.
X cause unacceptable effects 6. Side Effects- physiologic effect not related
X highly teratogenic to the desired effects.
X too toxic 7. Adverse Effects- more severe than the side
effects. Dangerous and detrimental
Phase II Studies 8. Toxic effects or toxicity- occurs when there
-Clinical investigators try the drug in px is unintentional over dosage of drugs.
who have the disease that the drug is meant to 9. Tolerance- a decreased responsiveness over
treat. the course of therapy.
- Participants are fully informed about the 10. Placebo effect- is a psychological benefit
possible risks and monitored very closely, often at from a compound that may not have the
no charge to them to evaluate the effects. chemical structure of the drug effect.

X less effective than anticipated Drug Actions

X too toxic It works in one or four ways:
X produces unacceptable adverse effects 1. To replace or act as a substitute for missing
X no more effective than other drugs already in the chemicals.
market. 2. To increase or stimulate certain cellular
activities.
Phase III Studies 3. To depress or slow cellular activities
-use of the drugs in a vast clinical market. 4. To interfere with the functioning of foreign
-prescribers are informed of all the known cells.
reactions to the drugs and precautions for its safe Agonist
use. -Drugs that interact directly with receptor
X Produces unacceptable adverse effects or sites to cause the same activity that natural
unforeseen reactions. chemicals would cause at the site.

The FDA established 5 categories to indicate the Antagonist

potential for a systematically absorbed drug to -drugs that bind to the receptor and block
cause birth defects. the action.

Competitive Antagonist
-some drugs react with receptor sites to
block normal stimulation producing no effect.

Pharmacokinetics
-involves the study or it is process of
absorption, distribution, metabolism
(biotransformation) and excretion of drugs.
 1. Absorption- movement of drug particles Parenteral Route – dependent on the rate of blood
from GI tract to the body fluids. flow through the tissues
2. Distribution- process by which drugs *Circulation or Blood Flow must be examined
become available to the body fluids and before the administration of drugs by the
tissues. parenteral route to identify any circulatory
3. Protein Binding- Portion of the drug that is insufficiency.
bound inactive. Subcutaneous Injections– have the
4. Metabolism- process by which body slowest absorption rate, especially if
inactivates or bio transform drug. peripheral circulation is impaired.
Hepatic First pass- drugs pass first in Intramuscular Injections– more rapidly
the liver before going to the blood. absorbed because of greater blood flow
5. Excretion/Elimination- main route is per unit weight of muscle compared with
through kidney. subcutaneous tissue
6. Half Life- the time it takes for the one half Intravenous (IV)- distributed the fastest Refers to
of drug to be concentrated to be what happens to a drug from the time it is
eliminated.
introduced to the body until it reaches the
circulating fluids and tissues.

Can be absorbed into cells through various

ROUTE OF ADMINISTRATION
processes: passive diffusion, active transport,
• Oral
filtration.
• Intravenous
Passive diffusion:
• Subcutaneous
- Major process through which drugs are
• Intramuscular
absorbed into the body
• Transdermal
• Rectal - Occurs across the concentration gradient
Active transport:
• Inhalation
• Sublingual - Process that uses energy to actively move a
molecule across a cell membrane.
ABSORPTION - The molecule may be large, or it may be
From the site of administration (portal of moving against a concentration gradient.
entry) to Blood (circulating fluids) Filtration:
Famous sites of Absorption: - Involves movement through pores in the cell
- GUT – Gastrointestinal System membranes either down a concentration
gradient or as a result of the pull of plasma
- Lungs
proteins
- Mucosal Surface – mouth, vagina, rectum

-The speed at which this happens depends on the Oral Route

route of administration. - Most frequently used drug administration
-The rate of absorption when a drug is given by a route in clinical practice.
parenteral route is dependent on the rate of blood - Not invasive, less expensive than drug
flow through the tissues. administration by other routes
- Safest way to deliver drugs
- Px can easily continue their drug regimen at
home when they are taking oral meds
Oral Route
- Food is present = Stomach acidity is higher - >
stomach empties more slowly = drug is
exposed to acidic environment longer
- Certain foods that increase stomach acidity
(milk products, alcohol, protein)
Oral Route bound penetrate tissue better than those
- TABLETS that are highly bound, but they are
- CAPSULES excreted much faster.
- SUPPOSITORIES - Some drugs compete with each other for
protein binding sites, altering
- SOLUTIONS
effectiveness or causing toxicity when the
Oral Route
two drugs are given together.
- TABLETS
- Most popular dosage forms and easiest to Blood Brain Barrier
administer
- It prevents entry into the brain of most
- Most contain a disintegrating agent in their drugs from the blood. The presence of the
formulation(cornstarch) BBB makes difficult the development of
- Types: scored, enteric-coated, layered, new treatments of brain diseases, or new
chewable, sublingually or buccally dissolved radiopharmaceuticals for neuroimaging
Oral Route of brain.
- CAPSULE - the specialized system of brain
- Dosage forms in which a drug is enclosed in microvascular endothelial cells (BMVEC)
either hard or soft soluble shell, usually made that shields the brain from toxic
of gelatin. substances in the blood, supplies brain
- Hard gelatin – consist of two parts which slide tissues with nutrients, and filters harmful
which slide together to enclose the powdered compounds from the brain back to the
medicinal contents. bloodstream.
- Soft gelatin – usually designed to encapsulate
medicinal liquids. Placenta and Breastmilk
Intravenous (IV) - Many drugs readily pass through the
placenta and affect the developing fetus
- Reach their full strength at the time of
in pregnant women.
injection, avoiding initial breakdown
- More likely to cause toxic effects because the
- It is best not to administer drugs to
margin of error in dosage is much smaller pregnant women because of its possible
risk to fetus unless the benefit outweighs
Intramuscular (IM)
the risk.
- Absorbed directly into the capillaries in the
muscle and sent into circulation. Metabolism
Subcutaneous (Sub-Q) -The process of converting a drug into a less
- deposit drug just under the skin, where it active metabolite, or biotransformation which are
slowly absorbed into circulation. easier to eliminate. The products of these chemical
reactions are called metabolites.
- Timing of absorption varies with SubQ
injection, depending in the fat content of the
Excretory
injection site and state of local circulation.
-is the sum of the processes of removing an
Protein Binding
administered drug from the body. the removal of
- Protein binding can influence the drug's
drugs from the body, either as a metabolite or
biological half-life. The bound portion unchanged drug. There are many different routes
may act as a reservoir or depot from of excretion, including urine, bile, sweat, saliva,
which the drug is slowly released as tears, milk, and stool. By far, the most important
the unbound form. Since the excretory organs are the kidney and liver.
unbound form is being metabolized
and/or excreted from the body, the Drug Calculation
bound fraction will be released in to ensure the correct dose of a
order to maintain equilibrium. prescribed medication is administered.
- Protein binding can enhance or detract
from a drug's performance. As a general
rule, agents that are minimally protein
 3 Methods
● basic formula, also called Desired over
Have;
● ratio and proportion;
● dimensional analysis.