Ppt chapter 01

Copyright © 2013 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Introduction to Drugs
Chapter 01

Pharmacology
• Pharmacology is the study of the biological effects of
chemicals.
• Drugs are chemicals that are introduced into the body to
cause some sort of change.
• Health care providers focus on how chemicals act on
living organisms.
• Nurses deal with pharmacotherapeutics, or clinical
pharmacology.
• Some drug effects are therapeutic, or helpful, but others
are undesirable or potentially dangerous.

Nurse’s Responsibility
• Administering drug
• Assesses for adverse drug effects
• Intervening to make the drug regimen more tolerable
• Providing patient teachings about drugs and the drug
regimen
• Monitoring and prevention of medication errors

Sources of Drugs
• Natural Sources
– Plants
• Synthetic version of the active chemical found in a
plant
• Main component of the growing alternative therapy
movement

Plants

Sources of Drugs (cont.)
• Natural Sources (cont.)
– Animal products
• Used to replace human chemicals that are not
produced because of disease or genetic problems
• Genetic engineering
• Many of these preparations are now created
synthetically

Sources of Drugs (cont.)
• Natural Sources (cont.)
– Inorganic compounds
• Salts of various elements can have therapeutic
effects in the human body
• Synthetic Sources
– Genetic engineering alter bacteria to produce
chemicals that are therapeutic and effective
– Original prototypes

Inorganic

Drug Evaluation
• Preclinical Trials
– Chemicals tested on laboratory animals
• Phase I Studies
– Chemicals tested on human volunteers
• Phase II Studies
– Drug tried on informed patients
• Phase III Studies
– Drug used in vast clinical market
• Phase IV Studies
– Continual evaluation of the drug

Question
Tell whether the following statement is true or false.
Groups of similar drugs, all of which are derived from an
original prototype, are available today because of
technological advances that make a particular drug more
desirable in a specific situation.

Answer
True
Rationale: These technological advances have led to the
development of groups of similar drugs, all of which are
derived from an original prototype, but each of which has
slightly different properties, making a particular drug
more desirable in a specific situation.

Legislation

Pregnancy Categories

Controlled Substances
• The Controlled Substances Act of 1970
– Control over the coding of drugs and the
enforcement of these codes to the FDA and the Drug
Enforcement Agency (DEA), a part of the U.S.
Department of Justice.
• Prescription, distribution, storage, and use of these drugs
are closely monitored.
• Local policies and procedures might be even more
rigorous.

Controlled Substances (cont.)

Generic Drugs
• Chemicals that are produced by companies involved
solely in the manufacturing of drugs
• Bioavailability of the drug
• “Dispensed as written”
– Important in drugs that have narrow safety margins

Orphan Drugs
• Drugs that have been discovered, but are not financially
viable and therefore have not been “adopted” by any
drug company
• The Orphan Drug Act of 1983

Over-the-Counter Drugs
• Products that are available without prescription for self-
treatment of a variety of complaints.
– Some of these agents were approved as prescription
drugs.
– Later were found to be very safe and useful for
patients (example: loratidine).
– Many of these drugs were “grandfathered.”

Over-the-Counter Drugs (cont.)
• Nurses should consider several problems related to OTC drug
use:
– Taking these drugs could mask the signs and symptoms of
underlying disease, making diagnosis difficult.
– Taking these drugs with prescription medications could
result in drug interactions and interfere with drug therapy.
– Not taking these drugs as directed could result in serious
overdoses.

Sources of Drug Information
• Drug Label
– Drug labels have specific information that identifies a
specific drug
– Understanding how to read a drug label is essential
• Package Insert
– Prepared by the manufacturer
– Contains all of the chemical and study information
that led to the drug’s approval
– Difficult to understand and read

Sources of Drug Information (cont.)
• Reference Books
– Physician’s Drug Reference (PDR)
– Drug Facts and Comparisons
– AMA Drug Evaluations
– Lippincott’s Nursing Drug Guide (LNDG)
• Journals
• Internet

Question
Drug labels are a source of information. What information
might a drug label provide?
A. The manufactured date
B. The expiration date
C. When the patent expires
D. The binding properties of the drug

Answer
B. The expiration date
Rationale: Drug labels have specific information that
identifies a specific drug. For example, a drug label
identifies the brand and generic names for the drug, the
drug dosage, expiration date, and special drug warnings.
Some labels also indicate the route and dosage for
administration.

Ppt chapter 01

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