Pondicherry Call Girls Book Now 9630942363 Top Class Pondicherry Escort Servi...
Prescribing in special situations
1. PRESCRIBING IN
SPECIAL
SITUATIONS
Dr. Pravin Prasad
MBBS, MD Clinical Pharmacology
Assistant Professor, Department of
Clinical Pharmacology
Maharajgunj Medical Campus,
Kathmandu
10 July 2020(26 Asar 2077), Friday
2. Describe the factors governing drug use in:
Physiological conditions like:
Children
Elderly
Pregnancy
Lactation
Pathological conditions like:
Renal disease
Hepatic disease
2
3. Absorption:
lower gastric acidity ad slow intestinal transit- altered
absorption of drugs
Faster transdermal absorption and faster rectal absorption –
Diazepam
Distribution:
Blood brain barrier (BBB) is more permeable – Kernicterus
Metabolism:
Low hepatic drug metabolizing systems in newborns – gray
baby syndrome
After one year age, faster metabolism than adults –
phenytoin, carbamazepine
4. Calculation of child dose
Young’s formula
Child dose = {Age/(Age+12)} x adult dose
Dilling’s formula
Child dose = (Age/20) x adult dose
Clark’s formula
Child dose = (Weight (kg) / 70) x adult dose
5. Absorption:
Decreased gut motility and blood flow to intestines slower
absorption
Distribution:
Lower plasma protein lesser plasma protein binding
Altered volume of distribution
Metabolism:
Decreased hepatic microsomal enzyme activity
Decreased first pass metabolism
Overall effect on drug metabolism: not uniform
Elimination:
Decreased renal function
50 years 75%, 75 years 50%
6. Both pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic:
Likely to be on multiple drugs Drug interaction
Exaggerated effects (pharmacodynamic):
Prone to develop cumulative toxicity on prolonged
medication
Enlarged prostate
Intolerant to digitalis
Decreased responsiveness to β adrenergic drugs
More Likely to develop adverse drug reactions
Postural hypotension, giddiness, mental confusion
8. When prescribed to a pregnant lady, can affect at three
stages:Stage of pregnancy Description Example of drugs
Fertilization and
implantation
(conception to day
17)
Failure of pregnancy
(often goes unnoticed)
Misoprostol, Ergot
alkaloids
Organogenesis
(weeks 2-8 intra-
uterine life)
Most vulnerable
period
Severe malformations
occur
Warfarin, Alcohol,
Phenytoin
Growth and
development ( 9
week post intra-
Developmental and
functional
abnormalities can
ACE inhibitors
(hypoplasia of lungs
and kidney)
10. Thalidomide tragedy:
Occurred in Europe
Pregnant lady suffering from
morning sickness received
thalidomide
Child born to them had
deformed limbs
Phocomelia
Drug withdrawn from market
15. Drug Category/
Clinical Condition
Avoid using Safer drug
Anti-helminthic Albendazole Piperazine
Niclosamide
Antihypertensives ACE inhibitors
Angiotensin
antagonists
Methyldopa
Beta blockers
Antidiabetic Sulfonylureas
Metformin
Insulin
Anticoagulants Warfarin Heparin
16. Lipid soluble
Attain high concentration in maternal plasma
Are low in protein binding
Are in low molecular weight (<800 Da)
Basic drugs
17. LipidMembrane
For weak basic drug:
Plasma (pH 7.5)
H+ +
B
B + H+
BH+
Drug
concentrated in
breast milk
Breast milk (pH 6.6)
BH+
18. Basic Drugs:
Morphine, Bromocriptine, Antihistamines
Acidic Drugs:
Sulfonamides, Ampicillin, Phenobarbitone
Non-electrolytes:
Ethanol
Low molecular weight electrolytes:
Lithium
Drugs known to cause hemolysis in G-6-PD deficient individuals:
Anti-malarials: quinine, primaquine
Sulfa drugs: Dapsone, isoniazid
19. Alters the response to drugs
Large hepatic reserve, severe liver disease only important
Dose reduction is sufficient in several instances
If drug is hepatotoxic, avoid its use
19
20. Influences drug pharmacokinetics
Altered bioavailability of drugs
Increased for high first pass metabolism drugs
Decreased bioavailability for fat soluble drugs
Altered distribution of drugs
Less serum albumin: High concentration of free acidic drugs
Altered distribution due to changes in body fluids
Metabolism and elimination of drugs
Decreased metabolism of drugs that are primarily metabolised
by liver
Activation of prodrugs affected
Decreased biliary excretion
20
21. Influences drug pharmacodynamics
Increased sensitivity
Increased depressant action of morphine and barbiturates
Mental changes due to brisk diuresis by diuretics in hepatic
encephalopathy
Prolonged prothrombin time due to warfarin
Accentuated fluid accumulation due to NSAIDs
21
22. Medicine Comment
Allopurinol Reduce dose
Amitriptyline
Sedative effect increased (avoid in severe liver
disease)
Amlodipine
Half-life prolonged — may need dose
reduction
Amoxicillin + clavulanic
acid Monitor liver function in liver disease
Azithromycin Avoid; jaundice reported
Carbamazepine Metabolism impaired in advanced liver disease
22
23. Reduced renal function may lead to:
Failure to excrete a drug or its metabolites producing
toxicity
Increased in sensitivity to some drugs
Impaired tolerance to adverse effects
Diminished efficacy of some drugs
Doses of drugs need to be adjusted to:
To avoid adverse reactions
To ensure efficacy
23
24. Adjustment is based on:
Renal impairment status of the patient
Usually dose reduced as:
24
Reduction in GFR (ml/min) Reduction in dose
50-70 70%
30-50 50%
10-30 30%
5-10 20%
25. Adjustment is based on:
Toxicity of the drug/metabolite
Avoid nephrotoxic drugs
Use safer alternatives
Relative excretion from kidneys
Drugs excreted as active drug/metabolite: reduce dose
Drugs excreted as inactive drug/metabolite: dose reduction
not required
Drugs mainly excreted from kidneys: reduce dose
Drugs partially excreted from kidneys: lesser reduction in
25
26. Loading dose in not changed (especially for long half life
drugs)
Changes in maintenance dose:
Change the dose, leaving the frequency: steady plasma
concentration
Change the frequency, leaving the dose: decreased cost,
improved compliance
Assess renal function before starting the treatment as well as
during the treatment
26
Young’s: for children less than 12 yrs of age
Dilling’s: for child 4-20 yrs. Age/20 fraction is very close to the weight curve of the infant
Lipophilic drug increased Vd
Hydrophilic drug decreased Vd
Liver disease may alter the response to drugs. However, the hepatic reserve appears to be large and liver disease has to be severe before important changes in drug metabolism take place. The ability to eliminate a specific drug may or may not correlate with the liver’s synthetic capacity for substances such as albumin or clotting factors, which tends to decrease as hepatic function declines. Unlike renal disease, where estimates of renal function based on creatinine clearance correlate with parameters of drug elimination such as clearance and half-life, routine liver function tests do not reflect actual liver function but are rather markers of liver cellular damage.
The altered response to drugs in liver disease can include all or some of the following changes:
Impaired intrinsic hepatic eliminating (metabolizing) capacity due to lack of or impaired function of hepatocytes.
Impaired biliary elimination due to biliary obstruction or transport abnormalities (for example, rifampicin is excreted in the bile unchanged and may accumulate in patients with intrahepatic or extrahepatic obstructive jaundice).
Impaired hepatic blood flow due to surgical shunting, collateral circulation or poor perfusion with cirrhosis and portal hypertension.
Altered volume of distribution of drugs due to increased extracellular fluid (ascites, oedema) and decreased muscle mass.
Decreased protein binding and increased toxicity of drugs highly bound to proteins (for example phenytoin) due to impaired albumin production.
Increased bioavailability through decreased first-pass metabolism.
Decreased bioavailability due to malabsorption of fats in cholestatic liver disease.
In severe liver disease increased sensitivity to the effects of some drugs can further impair cerebral function and may precipitate hepatic encephalopathy (for example, morphine). Oedema and ascites in chronic liver disease may be exacerbated by drugs that cause fluid retention (for example, acetylsalicylic acid, ibuprofen, prednisolone, dexamethasone).
Usually drugs are metabolized without injury to the liver. A few drugs cause dose-related hepatotoxicity. However, most hepatotoxic reactions to drugs are rare but tend to be unpredictable. In patients with impaired liver function, the dose-related hepatotoxic reaction may occur at lower doses and the unpredictable reactions seem to occur more frequently. Both should be avoided.
Information to help prescribing in hepatic impairment is included in the following table. The table contains only those drugs that need dose adjustment. However, absence from the table does not automatically imply safety as for many drugs data about safety are absent; it is therefore important to also refer to the individual drug entries.
High first pass metabolism: Propanolol, morphine, pethidine, GTN, Lidocaine
Acidic drugs: barbiturates, BZDs, NSAIDs, Penicillin, phenytoin, warfarin
Drugs primarily metabolised by liver: morphine, lidocaine, propanolol
Prodrugs: bacampicillin- ampicillin, prednisone- prednisolone, levodopa-depamine
Impaired biliary elimination due to biliary obstruction or transport abnormalities (for example, rifampicin is excreted in the bile unchanged and may accumulate in patients with intrahepatic or extrahepatic obstructive jaundice).
Increased sensitivity:
Failure to excrete a drug or its metabolites producing toxicity: penicillin- convulsions, pethidine (active metabolite- norpethidine)- seizures
Increased in sensitivity to some drugs: Alcuronium- prolonged duration of block, BZDs, barbiturates- increased CNS depression, anti-hypertensives- postural hypertension
Impaired tolerance to adverse effects: acetazolamide- metabolic acidosis
Diminished efficacy of some drugs: thiazide diuretics
Reduced renal function may need drug or its dose adjustment because of problems with drug therapy for the following reasons:
1. The failure to excrete a drug or its metabolites may produce toxicity.
2. The sensitivity to some drugs is increased even if the renal elimination is unimpaired.
3. The tolerance to adverse effects may be impaired.
4. The efficacy of some drugs may diminish.
The dosage of many drugs must be adjusted in patients with renal impairment to avoid adverse reactions and to ensure efficacy. The level of renal function below which the dose of a drug must be reduced depends on how toxic it is and whether it is eliminated entirely by renal excretion or is partly metabolized to inactive metabolites.
A loading dose equivalent to the usual dose in patients withnormal renal function should be considered for drugs with aparticularly long half-life
In general, all patients with renal impairment are given a loading dose which is the same as the usual dose for a patient with normal renal function. Maintenance doses are adjusted to the clinical situation. The maintenance dose of a drug can be reduced either by reducing the individual dose leaving the normal interval between doses unchanged or by increasing the interval between doses without changing the dose. The interval extension method may provide the benefits of convenience and decreased cost, while the dose reduction method provides more constant plasma concentration.
Reduced renal function may need drug or its dose adjustment because of problems with drug therapy for the following reasons:
1. The failure to excrete a drug or its metabolites may produce toxicity.
2. The sensitivity to some drugs is increased even if the renal elimination is unimpaired.
3. The tolerance to adverse effects may be impaired.
4. The efficacy of some drugs may diminish.
The dosage of many drugs must be adjusted in patients with renal impairment to avoid adverse reactions and to ensure efficacy. The level of renal function below which the dose of a drug must be reduced depends on how toxic it is and whether it is eliminated entirely by renal excretion or is partly metabolized to inactive metabolites.
A loading dose equivalent to the usual dose in patients withnormal renal function should be considered for drugs with aparticularly long half-life
In general, all patients with renal impairment are given a loading dose which is the same as the usual dose for a patient with normal renal function. Maintenance doses are adjusted to the clinical situation. The maintenance dose of a drug can be reduced either by reducing the individual dose leaving the normal interval between doses unchanged or by increasing the interval between doses without changing the dose. The interval extension method may provide the benefits of convenience and decreased cost, while the dose reduction method provides more constant plasma concentration.