NR565 MIDTERM EXAM | ADVANCED PHARMACOLOGY PRACTICE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS |
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027
Pharmacodynamics - ANS ✔✔What the drug does to the body
-3 Mechanisms of action
• Receptor
• Enzyme
• Nonselective Interactions
Enzymes - ANS ✔✔-most frequently seen in relation to the metabolism of drugs
-act as catalysts in nearly every chemical reaction that takes place in the cells
-drugs can enhance or inhibit the catalytic actions
Nonselective interactions - ANS ✔✔-drugs chemically alter or physically interfere with cellular
structures or there processes
• ex: chemotherapy
Patient-specific plan goals - ANS ✔✔-cure
-decrease in symptoms
-stopping or slowing the disease process
-preventing disease
-improved quality of life
Types of drug therapy - ANS ✔✔-acute
• tx active disease & sustain life
-maintenance
• focus on prevention of disease progression
-supplemental
• medication required for normal body function
,-palliative
• any tx program designed to provide symptomatic relief of chronic severe pain
-supportive
• maintains integrity of body functions
-prophylactic
• prevention; immunizations, pre-procedure & postexposure antibiotics
-empiric
• clinical probability of illness that has not yet been diagnosed; administering broad spectrum
antibiotics before culture results
Idiosyncratic effects - ANS ✔✔unexpected individual responses to medications
Tolerance - ANS ✔✔declining response to a drug
dependence - ANS ✔✔physiologic or psychologic need for a substance
NIH: dependence vs addiction - ANS ✔✔-drug dependence
• a person needs a drug to function normally, abruptly stopping the drug leads to withdrawal
symptoms.
-drug addiction
• the compulsive use of a substance, despite its negative or dangerous effects
drug interactions - ANS ✔✔• drug-drug
• food-drug
• additive
• synergistic
• antagonistic
,• incompatibility
grapefruit juice decreases the metabolism of a number of drugs, including: - ANS ✔✔-buspirone
-nefedipine
-statins
what food counters the effect of warfarin - ANS ✔✔leafy dark greens
-contain vitamin K
antacids reduce effects of some drugs: - ANS ✔✔(antagonistic interaction)
thyroid replacement hormones
some antibiotics
antagonistic interaction - ANS ✔✔less than the desired effect of one or both drugs
synergistic interaction - ANS ✔✔sum total of effect greater than if they were given alone
common synergistic interaction to control hypertension - ANS ✔✔lisinopril + HCTZ
8 rights of medication administration - ANS ✔✔1. Right Patient
2. Right Medication
3. Right Dose
4. Right Route
5. Right Time
6. Right Reason
7. Right Response
8. Right Documentation
categories of adverse reactions - ANS ✔✔-pharmacologic
-allergic
-idiosyncratic
-drug interactions
adverse reactions: pharmacologic - ANS ✔✔-an extension of a drug's normal effects
• such as an antihypertensive causing hypotension
, adverse reactions: allergic or hypersensitivity - ANS ✔✔-exaggerated immune response
• ranges from mild itching to anaphylaxis
• not uncommon for 2nd or 3rd exposure to result in more extreme reaction
adverse reactions: idiosyncratic - ANS ✔✔-peculiar to the patient
• may not be listed in the drug reference
adverse reactions: drug interaction - ANS ✔✔-can be the most complex & difficult to determine
• # of drugs available & potentially prescribed has grown significantly
teratogenic effects - ANS ✔✔-the ability to cause fetal defects if taken during pregnancy
mutagenic effects - ANS ✔✔-ability to cause changes in genetic tissue
known carcinogens - ANS ✔✔-substances that can cause cancer
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) - ANS ✔✔-reduces the risk of red cell hemolysis
through exposure to oxidizing drugs
-Deficiency of this enzyme found in approximately 100 million people
• particularly African Americans, Kurdish Jews, Sardinians
Toxicology - ANS ✔✔Study of adverse effects of chemicals and their compounds on living
organisms and tissues
Pharmacokinetics - ANS ✔✔What the body does to a drug
-The study of what happens to a drug from the time of administration until the parent drug & all
metabolites leave the body.
-the rate and extent to which drugs move from the point of entry or route of administration,
gain access to the bloodstream, and are absorbed and distributed to the tissues of the body
Four phases of pharmacokinetics - ANS ✔✔• absorption
• distribution
• metabolism
• excretion
onset of action - ANS ✔✔how long before the medication first begins to effect the patient
time to peak effect - ANS ✔✔how long before the medication is at the height of its effect
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027
Pharmacodynamics - ANS ✔✔What the drug does to the body
-3 Mechanisms of action
• Receptor
• Enzyme
• Nonselective Interactions
Enzymes - ANS ✔✔-most frequently seen in relation to the metabolism of drugs
-act as catalysts in nearly every chemical reaction that takes place in the cells
-drugs can enhance or inhibit the catalytic actions
Nonselective interactions - ANS ✔✔-drugs chemically alter or physically interfere with cellular
structures or there processes
• ex: chemotherapy
Patient-specific plan goals - ANS ✔✔-cure
-decrease in symptoms
-stopping or slowing the disease process
-preventing disease
-improved quality of life
Types of drug therapy - ANS ✔✔-acute
• tx active disease & sustain life
-maintenance
• focus on prevention of disease progression
-supplemental
• medication required for normal body function
,-palliative
• any tx program designed to provide symptomatic relief of chronic severe pain
-supportive
• maintains integrity of body functions
-prophylactic
• prevention; immunizations, pre-procedure & postexposure antibiotics
-empiric
• clinical probability of illness that has not yet been diagnosed; administering broad spectrum
antibiotics before culture results
Idiosyncratic effects - ANS ✔✔unexpected individual responses to medications
Tolerance - ANS ✔✔declining response to a drug
dependence - ANS ✔✔physiologic or psychologic need for a substance
NIH: dependence vs addiction - ANS ✔✔-drug dependence
• a person needs a drug to function normally, abruptly stopping the drug leads to withdrawal
symptoms.
-drug addiction
• the compulsive use of a substance, despite its negative or dangerous effects
drug interactions - ANS ✔✔• drug-drug
• food-drug
• additive
• synergistic
• antagonistic
,• incompatibility
grapefruit juice decreases the metabolism of a number of drugs, including: - ANS ✔✔-buspirone
-nefedipine
-statins
what food counters the effect of warfarin - ANS ✔✔leafy dark greens
-contain vitamin K
antacids reduce effects of some drugs: - ANS ✔✔(antagonistic interaction)
thyroid replacement hormones
some antibiotics
antagonistic interaction - ANS ✔✔less than the desired effect of one or both drugs
synergistic interaction - ANS ✔✔sum total of effect greater than if they were given alone
common synergistic interaction to control hypertension - ANS ✔✔lisinopril + HCTZ
8 rights of medication administration - ANS ✔✔1. Right Patient
2. Right Medication
3. Right Dose
4. Right Route
5. Right Time
6. Right Reason
7. Right Response
8. Right Documentation
categories of adverse reactions - ANS ✔✔-pharmacologic
-allergic
-idiosyncratic
-drug interactions
adverse reactions: pharmacologic - ANS ✔✔-an extension of a drug's normal effects
• such as an antihypertensive causing hypotension
, adverse reactions: allergic or hypersensitivity - ANS ✔✔-exaggerated immune response
• ranges from mild itching to anaphylaxis
• not uncommon for 2nd or 3rd exposure to result in more extreme reaction
adverse reactions: idiosyncratic - ANS ✔✔-peculiar to the patient
• may not be listed in the drug reference
adverse reactions: drug interaction - ANS ✔✔-can be the most complex & difficult to determine
• # of drugs available & potentially prescribed has grown significantly
teratogenic effects - ANS ✔✔-the ability to cause fetal defects if taken during pregnancy
mutagenic effects - ANS ✔✔-ability to cause changes in genetic tissue
known carcinogens - ANS ✔✔-substances that can cause cancer
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) - ANS ✔✔-reduces the risk of red cell hemolysis
through exposure to oxidizing drugs
-Deficiency of this enzyme found in approximately 100 million people
• particularly African Americans, Kurdish Jews, Sardinians
Toxicology - ANS ✔✔Study of adverse effects of chemicals and their compounds on living
organisms and tissues
Pharmacokinetics - ANS ✔✔What the body does to a drug
-The study of what happens to a drug from the time of administration until the parent drug & all
metabolites leave the body.
-the rate and extent to which drugs move from the point of entry or route of administration,
gain access to the bloodstream, and are absorbed and distributed to the tissues of the body
Four phases of pharmacokinetics - ANS ✔✔• absorption
• distribution
• metabolism
• excretion
onset of action - ANS ✔✔how long before the medication first begins to effect the patient
time to peak effect - ANS ✔✔how long before the medication is at the height of its effect
