Pharmacology Notes
A. Intro
a. Pharmacology: the study of drugs and their effect on the human body
i. Therapeutic effects: positive effects drug has on the body
ii. Side or Adverse Effects: negative effects the drug has on the body
b. Learning Drugs
i. Majority organized by Body System Categories
1. Easier to learn by category than each drug individually
1. Drugs in same category
i. Usually act in a similar manner
ii. Share many of the same characteristics
iii. Therapeutic Effects
iv. Side and Adverse Effects
v. Contraindications and Precautions
vi. Administration Considerations
ii. Category Prototype
1. Drug providers most commonly prescribe
1. *STUDY*: Drug Administration Table for each category’s
prototypical drug
iii. Specific Drug Category Information
1. Pharmaceutics
2. Pharmacokinetics
3. Pharmacodynamics
4. Expected Pharmacologic
5. Expected Therapeutic Effects
6. Side and Adverse Effects
7. Contraindications
8. Precautions
9. Interactions
iv. Special Drug Considerations
1. Drug-Drug and drug-food interactions
2. Tolerance
3. Cumulative Effect
4. Special Populations
1. Women who are pregnant
2. Infants and Children
3. Older Adults
c. Patient Instructions
i. Instructions you need to give your patients about the drugs their taking
B. Generic vs Brand/Trade Name Drugs
a. Generic Name
i. Pharmaceutical company develops drug and give it official name
ii. Not capitalized
1. E.g. acetaminophen
, 1. Brand/Trade name = Tylenol
iii. Usually cheaper than Brand/Trade name drugs
iv. Preferred by patients and insurance companies
1. Helps decrease cost of drugs
b. Brand or Trade Name
i. Drug’s commercial name
1. May vary according to the company producing and marketing it
ii. Capitalized
1. E.g. Tylenol
1. Generic name = acetaminophen
iii. Have the same chemical composition
1. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducts studies to make
sure that each new generic drug has the same therapeutic
equivalence as the original brand name drug
1. Generic form hits market once USDA establishes this
i. Generic drug is interchangeable with brand name
drug with approval from patient’s provider
C. Prescription vs Nonprescription
a. Prescription Drugs = Require a prescription
i. Federal Govt. identifies as harmful if there is no supervision of
administration by license health provider
1. Licensed Health Provider
1. Physician
2. Nurse Practitioner
3. Physician’s assistant
ii. Drug Examples
1. Antibiotics: drugs to treat infections
1. ceftriaxone (Generic name)
i. Rocephin (Trade/Brand Name)
2. Antihypertensives: drugs to treat high blood pressure
1. captopril (Generic name)
i. Capoten (Trade/Brand Name)
ii. ACE inhibitor for hypertension
3. Diuretics: drugs that promote urination
1. furosemide (Generic name)
i. Lasix (Trade/Brand Name)
4. Narcotic analgesics: drugs for pain relief
1. fentanyl (Generic name)
i. Sublimaze or Duragesic (Trade/Brand Name)
1. Opiate-based drugs
b. Nonprescription Drugs / Over The Counter (OTC) = Don’t require a prescription
i. Relatively sage to take without supervision
ii. Can be purchased at drug stores or grocery stores
iii. Examples
, 1. acetaminophen (Tylenol)
2. ibuprofen (Advil)
3. diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
4. loratadine (Claritin)
5. ranitidine (Zantac)
D. Pharmaceutics
a. Addresses how various drug forms affect:
i. Dissolution
ii. Absorption Rate
iii. Onset of action
b. Oral Drugs
i. Taken by mouth
ii. Forms
1. Tablets
2. Capsules
3. Liquids
iii. Inhales into the lungs
1. Usually in powder form
iv. Form influences its rate of absorption
1. Lowest rate of absorption
1. Liquid
2. Suspension
3. Powder
4. Capsule
5. Tablet
6. Coated Tablet
7. Enteric-Coated Table
v. Forms of Delayed Release Drugs: the release of oral drug
1. Enteric-Coated (EC)
1. Dissolves when drug reaches intestine
2. Extended Release (ER)
1. Releases drug over a period of time
2. Other names
i. Extended Length (XL)
ii. Sustained Release (SR or XR)
iii. Sustained Action (SA)
3. Immediate-Release form: expedites release of the drug
c. Parenteral (Injectable) Drugs
i. Administration
1. Intravenously: into the vein (IV)
2. Subcutaneously: into subcutaneous tissue (subQ)
3. Intramuscularly: into muscle tissue (IM)
ii. Forms of parenteral drugs
1. Liquid
A. Intro
a. Pharmacology: the study of drugs and their effect on the human body
i. Therapeutic effects: positive effects drug has on the body
ii. Side or Adverse Effects: negative effects the drug has on the body
b. Learning Drugs
i. Majority organized by Body System Categories
1. Easier to learn by category than each drug individually
1. Drugs in same category
i. Usually act in a similar manner
ii. Share many of the same characteristics
iii. Therapeutic Effects
iv. Side and Adverse Effects
v. Contraindications and Precautions
vi. Administration Considerations
ii. Category Prototype
1. Drug providers most commonly prescribe
1. *STUDY*: Drug Administration Table for each category’s
prototypical drug
iii. Specific Drug Category Information
1. Pharmaceutics
2. Pharmacokinetics
3. Pharmacodynamics
4. Expected Pharmacologic
5. Expected Therapeutic Effects
6. Side and Adverse Effects
7. Contraindications
8. Precautions
9. Interactions
iv. Special Drug Considerations
1. Drug-Drug and drug-food interactions
2. Tolerance
3. Cumulative Effect
4. Special Populations
1. Women who are pregnant
2. Infants and Children
3. Older Adults
c. Patient Instructions
i. Instructions you need to give your patients about the drugs their taking
B. Generic vs Brand/Trade Name Drugs
a. Generic Name
i. Pharmaceutical company develops drug and give it official name
ii. Not capitalized
1. E.g. acetaminophen
, 1. Brand/Trade name = Tylenol
iii. Usually cheaper than Brand/Trade name drugs
iv. Preferred by patients and insurance companies
1. Helps decrease cost of drugs
b. Brand or Trade Name
i. Drug’s commercial name
1. May vary according to the company producing and marketing it
ii. Capitalized
1. E.g. Tylenol
1. Generic name = acetaminophen
iii. Have the same chemical composition
1. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducts studies to make
sure that each new generic drug has the same therapeutic
equivalence as the original brand name drug
1. Generic form hits market once USDA establishes this
i. Generic drug is interchangeable with brand name
drug with approval from patient’s provider
C. Prescription vs Nonprescription
a. Prescription Drugs = Require a prescription
i. Federal Govt. identifies as harmful if there is no supervision of
administration by license health provider
1. Licensed Health Provider
1. Physician
2. Nurse Practitioner
3. Physician’s assistant
ii. Drug Examples
1. Antibiotics: drugs to treat infections
1. ceftriaxone (Generic name)
i. Rocephin (Trade/Brand Name)
2. Antihypertensives: drugs to treat high blood pressure
1. captopril (Generic name)
i. Capoten (Trade/Brand Name)
ii. ACE inhibitor for hypertension
3. Diuretics: drugs that promote urination
1. furosemide (Generic name)
i. Lasix (Trade/Brand Name)
4. Narcotic analgesics: drugs for pain relief
1. fentanyl (Generic name)
i. Sublimaze or Duragesic (Trade/Brand Name)
1. Opiate-based drugs
b. Nonprescription Drugs / Over The Counter (OTC) = Don’t require a prescription
i. Relatively sage to take without supervision
ii. Can be purchased at drug stores or grocery stores
iii. Examples
, 1. acetaminophen (Tylenol)
2. ibuprofen (Advil)
3. diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
4. loratadine (Claritin)
5. ranitidine (Zantac)
D. Pharmaceutics
a. Addresses how various drug forms affect:
i. Dissolution
ii. Absorption Rate
iii. Onset of action
b. Oral Drugs
i. Taken by mouth
ii. Forms
1. Tablets
2. Capsules
3. Liquids
iii. Inhales into the lungs
1. Usually in powder form
iv. Form influences its rate of absorption
1. Lowest rate of absorption
1. Liquid
2. Suspension
3. Powder
4. Capsule
5. Tablet
6. Coated Tablet
7. Enteric-Coated Table
v. Forms of Delayed Release Drugs: the release of oral drug
1. Enteric-Coated (EC)
1. Dissolves when drug reaches intestine
2. Extended Release (ER)
1. Releases drug over a period of time
2. Other names
i. Extended Length (XL)
ii. Sustained Release (SR or XR)
iii. Sustained Action (SA)
3. Immediate-Release form: expedites release of the drug
c. Parenteral (Injectable) Drugs
i. Administration
1. Intravenously: into the vein (IV)
2. Subcutaneously: into subcutaneous tissue (subQ)
3. Intramuscularly: into muscle tissue (IM)
ii. Forms of parenteral drugs
1. Liquid
