Nursing Pharmacology Chapter 2

Additive effects - drug interactions in which the effect of a combination of two or more drugs with similar actions is equivalent to the sum of the individual effects of the same drugs given alone (1+1=2) compare with synergistic effects Adverse drug event - any undesirable occurrence related to administering or failing to administer a prescribed medication Adverse drug reaction - any unexpected, unintended, undesired, or excessive response to a medication given at therapeutic dosages (as opposed to overdose) Agonist - a drug that binds to and stimulates the activity of one or more receptors in the body Adverse effects - a general term for any undesirable effects that are a direct response to one or more drugs. Allergic reaction - an immunologic hypersensitivity reaction resulting from the unusual sensitivity of a patient to a particular medication; a type of adverse drug event. Antagonist - A drug that binds to and inhibits the activity of one or more receptors in the body. Antagonist are also called inhibitors Antagonistic effects - drug interactions in which the effect of a combination of two or more drugs is less than the sum of the individual effects of the same drug given alone(1+1 = less than 2) it is usually caused by an antagonizing (blocking or reducing) effect of one drug on another