, NURS 5334 Advanced Pharmacology Case Studies & Exam
Study Guide
University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) | 2026/2027 Edition
Purpose. This original study guide supports advanced pharmacology review through concise concept summaries, clinical
reasoning, case-based application, and exam-style practice.
1 Core Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics
2 Prescribing Across the Lifespan
3 Autonomic Nervous System Pharmacology
4 Cardiovascular Pharmacology
5 Anticoagulants, Antiplatelets & Lipid Therapy
6 Psychopharmacology
7 Eye, Ear, Skin & Bone Agents
8 Urologic Pharmacology
9 Antimicrobial Pharmacology
10 Controlled Substances & Safe Prescribing
11 Integrated Clinical Case Studies
12 Exam-Focused Practice Questions
1. Core Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics
Key concepts
Pharmacokinetics describes what the body does to the drug: absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.
Pharmacodynamics describes what the drug does to the body, including receptor binding, dose-response relationships,
efficacy, potency, therapeutic index, and adverse effects.
High-yield principles
Half-life determines time to steady state and time to elimination. Most drugs approach steady state after about four to five
half-lives. Loading doses are useful when a rapid effect is needed for a drug with a long half-life; maintenance dosing is
driven largely by clearance. Highly protein-bound drugs may have increased free concentrations in hypoalbuminemia.
Metabolism & interactions
CYP inhibition generally raises concentrations of susceptible substrates, while enzyme induction tends to lower them.
Clinically important interactions are especially concerning when the substrate has a narrow therapeutic index. First-pass
metabolism can substantially reduce oral bioavailability.
Exam focus
Be able to distinguish potency from efficacy, agonists from antagonists, competitive from noncompetitive antagonism, and
clearance from volume of distribution. Expect application questions involving renal impairment, liver disease,
hypoalbuminemia, and interacting medications.
NURS 5334 Case Studies & Exam Study Guide | Page 1
, 2. Prescribing Across the Lifespan
Older adults
Reduced renal clearance, altered body composition, polypharmacy, and increased pharmacodynamic sensitivity raise
adverse-effect risk. Serum creatinine can appear deceptively normal in low-muscle-mass patients, so estimated renal
function is often more informative for dose adjustment.
Pediatrics
Drug handling changes with growth and maturation. Weight-based or body-surface-area dosing may be required, but
pediatric dosing should rely on age-appropriate evidence rather than simply scaling adult doses.
Pregnancy & lactation
Prescribing requires individualized risk-benefit assessment. Maternal disease itself may pose risk, so medication avoidance
is not automatically safest. During lactation, consider milk transfer, infant age, half-life, oral bioavailability to the infant, and
whether timing doses after feeding can reduce exposure.
Exam focus
Know how renal and hepatic maturation, pregnancy-related increases in plasma volume and GFR, and age-related
pharmacokinetic changes alter medication exposure.
NURS 5334 Case Studies & Exam Study Guide | Page 2
Study Guide
University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) | 2026/2027 Edition
Purpose. This original study guide supports advanced pharmacology review through concise concept summaries, clinical
reasoning, case-based application, and exam-style practice.
1 Core Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics
2 Prescribing Across the Lifespan
3 Autonomic Nervous System Pharmacology
4 Cardiovascular Pharmacology
5 Anticoagulants, Antiplatelets & Lipid Therapy
6 Psychopharmacology
7 Eye, Ear, Skin & Bone Agents
8 Urologic Pharmacology
9 Antimicrobial Pharmacology
10 Controlled Substances & Safe Prescribing
11 Integrated Clinical Case Studies
12 Exam-Focused Practice Questions
1. Core Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics
Key concepts
Pharmacokinetics describes what the body does to the drug: absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.
Pharmacodynamics describes what the drug does to the body, including receptor binding, dose-response relationships,
efficacy, potency, therapeutic index, and adverse effects.
High-yield principles
Half-life determines time to steady state and time to elimination. Most drugs approach steady state after about four to five
half-lives. Loading doses are useful when a rapid effect is needed for a drug with a long half-life; maintenance dosing is
driven largely by clearance. Highly protein-bound drugs may have increased free concentrations in hypoalbuminemia.
Metabolism & interactions
CYP inhibition generally raises concentrations of susceptible substrates, while enzyme induction tends to lower them.
Clinically important interactions are especially concerning when the substrate has a narrow therapeutic index. First-pass
metabolism can substantially reduce oral bioavailability.
Exam focus
Be able to distinguish potency from efficacy, agonists from antagonists, competitive from noncompetitive antagonism, and
clearance from volume of distribution. Expect application questions involving renal impairment, liver disease,
hypoalbuminemia, and interacting medications.
NURS 5334 Case Studies & Exam Study Guide | Page 1
, 2. Prescribing Across the Lifespan
Older adults
Reduced renal clearance, altered body composition, polypharmacy, and increased pharmacodynamic sensitivity raise
adverse-effect risk. Serum creatinine can appear deceptively normal in low-muscle-mass patients, so estimated renal
function is often more informative for dose adjustment.
Pediatrics
Drug handling changes with growth and maturation. Weight-based or body-surface-area dosing may be required, but
pediatric dosing should rely on age-appropriate evidence rather than simply scaling adult doses.
Pregnancy & lactation
Prescribing requires individualized risk-benefit assessment. Maternal disease itself may pose risk, so medication avoidance
is not automatically safest. During lactation, consider milk transfer, infant age, half-life, oral bioavailability to the infant, and
whether timing doses after feeding can reduce exposure.
Exam focus
Know how renal and hepatic maturation, pregnancy-related increases in plasma volume and GFR, and age-related
pharmacokinetic changes alter medication exposure.
NURS 5334 Case Studies & Exam Study Guide | Page 2
