NURS 682 Pharmacology Midterm
Elaborated Exam 2025
Pharmacokinetics - -what the body does to the drug (absorption, distribution,
metabolism, excretion)
Pharmacodynamics - -what the drug does to the body; mechanism of action
Pharmacodynamics-- study determining the effect of a specific medication dose in
treating a disease
Bioavailability - --Percent of dose enter systemic circulation after PO administration
*Fraction of the administered drug that reaches systemic circulation*
Lower bioavailability - -LESS drug there is in circulation and in the tissue, higher first
pass effect
ex. Simvastatin
Higher bioavailability - -the more of the drug that reaches systemic circulation, Lower
first pass effect
ex. Atorvastatin
Tmax - -Time to maximum drug level observed
Cmax - -maximum or peak concentration of drug observed after administration
Volume of distribution - -Vd = (amount of drug in the body) / (plasma drug
concentration)
-distribution of a medication between plasma and the rest of the body; the volume in
which the amount of drug would need to be uniformly distributed to produce the
observed blood concentration
ex. Vancomycin in serum testing for trough levels
Volume of distribution: age related changes - --Healthy adults 20-30 vs. 60-80
-Older adults get more dehydrated
-Medications that are lipophilic will stay longer in the older adult and older adults get
-Liver shrinks with age and albumin is synthesized in the liver. There is freer drug
available in highly protein bound drugs—->Decrease in serum albumin
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-Most drugs are biotransformed in the liver, with older adults there is slower
transformation and longer half lives
Factors that influence volume of distribution - -Aging
-less free water, more body fat
-lower average serum albumin
Hydration Status
Compartment and volume
First Pass Effect (pre-systemic elimination) - -Biostranformation and/or excretion of oral
drug by hepatic mechanisms
-occurs prior to entering GI tract
Drugs absorbed from the GI tract
Extensive hepatic metabolism.extraciton
Ex. IV vs oral dosages
Agonists - -Works primarily by stimulating the activity of a receptor site
binds to a receptor, causes an effect similar to endogenous compound
Antagonist - -Clinical action= occupying a receptor site and inhibiting its endogenous
activity
Narrow therapeutic Index - -small differences in drug dose or blood concentration can
be fatal
Any pharmaceutical which has <2-fold difference between the minimum toxic
concentration and minimum effective concentration in blood
Wide therapeutic index - -Greater distance between effective dose and toxic dose
Ex. Fluoxetine does NOT need drug monitoring
Pharmacogenetics: PK genetic influences - -Drug absorption, distribution, metabolism,
excretion
Influence dose requirements and/or adverse effects
Pharmacogenetics: PD genetic influences - -Drug targets: Receptors, transporters,
intracellular signaling pathways, enzymes and metabolic pathways
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Influence drug efficacy
Drugs with QT prolongation - -Ventricular repolarization prolongation
Ectopic beats with long pause follow by baseline rhythm beat with marked prolonged
QT interval
Underlying risk factors + Adding medications with QT prolonging effects
Known: Amiodarone, Haldol
Known risk of QT prolongaiton - -OLDER AGE
Summary of Age-Related Changes - -Older adults have....
-less % body weight as water
-less lean muscle mass
-higher % weight as fat
-LOWER SERIUM ALBUMIN**
-lower relative kidney weight
-less relative hepatic blood flow
Beer's Criteria - -Unconditionally inappropriate meds & Generally best avoided
regardless of circumstances
Usually alternative available
Conditioned upon disease state & dose
Likely only to be inappropriate in specific context
Age-related changes that impact drug effect / general pharm rules for the elder - -Beer's
Criteria
**Avoid medications with systemic anticholinergic ridged effect due to risk of confusion,
urinary retention, constipation, visual disturbance and hypotension
DO NOT continue unwise practices that are seen in daily clinical settings
Have multiple choices in a drug class, choose a product with a shorter half life
While PD (pharmakodynamics) doesn't change with gaining some age-related changes
will result in less drug effect
**In the elder: loss of B-2 receptor sites
Less bronchodilator effect with -terol meds
BUN - -blood urea nitrogen
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Evaluation of the amount of nitrogen in the blood in urea form
Urea= metabolism by-product of proteins by liver, removed from the blood by kidneys
Creatinine - -Breakdown product of muscle creatinine phosphate and is usually
produced at fairly constant rate by the body (depending on muscles mass)
**Creatinine is greater with higher muscle mass and lower with low muscle mass**
BUN: Creatinine (BUN:Cr) - -Usually less than 20:1 in presence of appropriate hydration
-Reduced in order hydration
Often elevated in renal disease
-In absence of renal disease, can be transiently elevated in dehydration, ingestion of
extreme amounts of protein, upper/lower GI bleed
Cockcroft-Gault equation - -Used to calculate GFR to take into account differences b/t
male and female
USE IBW
Cr Cl in men
(140-age) x wt in kg/(72 x sCr)
Cr Cl in women
(140-age) x wt in kg/(72 x sCr) x 0.85
Antibiotic use in pregnancy: Category B - -Category B= best
Animal studies have not demonstrated fetal risk but no controlled study in humans OR
Animal studies have shown adverse effect but not demonstrated in human study
Beta-lactation abx
-Penicillins
-Cephalosporins
Macrolides
-Azithromycin, erythromycin but NOT clarithromycin
Antibiotic Use in pregnancy: Category C - -No controlled study in humans available
Studies in animals have revealed. Adverse effects on the fetus
-Embryocidal
-Teratogenic
-Other
2/3rd of all medications
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