NSG 6005 PHARMACOLOGY FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE

PHARM STUDY GUIDE TERMS- Half-life- Time required for ½ drug to be eliminated by the body, or time it takes for the blood level of a drug to be reduced to 50% (elimination half-life) takes about 5 half lifes to get out of system. First pass effect- The initial metabolism in liver of a drug absorbed form the gastrointestinal tract before the drug reaches systemic circulation through the blood stream. Has to be absorbed through intestines and metabolized through liver. Given in active form. Tolerance- Reduced response to a drug after prolonged use. Decrease response to repeated drug doses. Inotropic effect- Drugs that affect myocardial contractility (-) inotropic drugs  contractility (+) inotropic drugs  contractility. Influence the force of muscular contractions. Dromotropic Effect- Drugs that effect the conduction of electrical pulses with in tissues of the heart. (-) dromotropic drugs  conduction (+) dromotropic drugs  conduction. Chronotropic effect- Drugs that influence the rate of the heartbeat. (-) Chronotropic drugs  HR (+) Chronotropic drugs  HR. Adjuvant therapy- A non-specific immunostimulant that enhances overall immune function, rather than stimulating the function of a specific immune system cell. Chapter 2 page 761 has examples of these meds. Indications T-cell lymphoma, bladder cancer, psoriatic arthritis, colon cancer, MS, Severe combined immunodeficiency disease, erythremia nodosum, acute promyelocytic leukemia.