RN PN VN Comprehensive Study Guide Drug Categories Medication
Administration Pharmacokinetics Pharmacodynamics Dosage
Calculations Insulin Anticoagulants Antibiotics Cardiovascular
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Drug Categories
Drugs in the same category act in a similar manner and share the same therapeutic effects.
Also share the same adverse drug reactions, contraindications and precautions, and
administration considerations.
Make sure to study the drug adminstration table for each category's prototypical drug
Protoype for a category
Is the drug providers most commonly prescribe.
Generic vs Brand or Trade name
A pharmaceutical company develops a drug and gives it an official name. (generic name)
Generic names are never capitalized.
VS
,The brand or trade name is a drug's commercial or proprietary name which is capitalized and
may vary according to the company producing it or marketing it.
generic name of acetaminophen
commonly referred to by its brand name, Tylenol.
Generic and brand, or trade names have
The same chemical composition
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducts studies to make sure
that each new generic drug has the same therapetuic equivalnce as the original brand-name
drug.
Once the FDA establishes this, the generic form can hit the market.
Prescription vs Nonprescription
The federal government identifies prescription drugs as potentially harmful if there is no
supervision of adminstration by a licensed health provider such as a physician, nurse
practitioner or physician's assistant.
Clients cannot obtain prescription drugs without a precription from one of these providers
,Examples of prescriptions drugs antibiotics ,
or drugs to treat infections
Antibiotics: ceftriaxone (GENERIC)
Brand Name:
Rocephin
Antihypertensive drugs : captopril
Brand name
Capoten
Diuretics : furosemide (gen)
Brand name
Lasix
Narcotic analgesic (pain reliever)
fentanyl (gen)
Brand name
Sublimaze and Duragesic- opiate based drugs for pain relief
, Nonprescription drugs do not require a prescription because
they have a designation from the FDA that says they are relatively safe to take without
supervision.
You can purchase nonprescription drugs at drug stores, grocery stores, and other stores that
sell this type of product
Non-prescription drug : acetaminophen
Tylenol
Non-prescription drug : ibuprofen
Advil
Non-prescription drug: diphenhydramine
Benadryl
Non-prescription: loratadine
Claritin
non-prescription: cimetidine
Tagamet