NR 224 FUNDAMENTALS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS/ A+ GRADE
Medication
substance used in the diagnosis, treatment, cure, relief, or prevention of health
problems
Pure Food and Drug Act
law simply requires all medications to be free of impure products
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
ensures that all medications on the market undergo vigorous testing before they are
sold to the public.
MedWatch program
voluntary program encourages nurses and other health care professionals to report
when a medication, product, or medical event causes harm to a patient
Nurse Practice Acts (NPAs)
define scope of nurses' professional functions and responsibilities
protect the public from unskilled, undereducated, and unlicensed personnel
Some medications have as many as three different names
chemical, generic or nonproprietary name, and trade name or proprietary name
Medication classification
indicates the effect of the medication on a body system, the symptoms the medication
relieves, or its desired effect
Forms of medications
tablets, capsules, elixirs, and suppositories
Pharmacokinetics
study of how medications enter the body, reach their site of action, metabolize, and exit
the body
Absorption
passage of medication molecules into the blood from the site of medication
administration
Influences of absorption
route of administration,
ability of medication to dissolve,
blood flow to site of administration, body surface area, and
lipid solubility of medication
Skin absorption
is slowest because of physical makeup of skin
IV injection absorption
is most rapid absorption because they are immediately available when they enter the
systemic circulation
The richer the blood supply at site of administration
the faster the medication is absorbed
Majority of medications are absorbed in
the small intestine rather than the stomach due to contact with larger surface area
Highly lipid-soluble medications
cross cell membranes easily and are absorbed quickly
, Distribution
after absorbed, it is distributed within the body to tissues and organs and ultimately to its
specific site of action
Circulation
how fast it reaches the site depends on vascularity of the various tissues and organs
Protein binding
most medications partially bind to albumin, they cannot exert pharmacological activity
Metabolism
after reaching its site, it becomes metabolized into less active or inactive form for easy
excretion
Biotransformation
occurs under the influence of enzymes that detoxify, break down, and remove active
chemicals
occurs within the liver (sometimes in the lungs, kidneys, blood, and intestines)
After medications are metabolized
exit the body through the kidneys, liver, bowel, lungs, and exocrine glands
Gaseous and volatile compounds
exit through the lungs
Lipid-soluble medications
excreted through exocrine glands
Medication from the hepatic circulation
broken down by the liver and excreted into bile
Kidneys
are the main organs for medication excretion
Therapeutic effect
is expected or predicted physiological response that a medication causes
Side effects
predictable and often unavoidable secondary effects produced at a usual therapeutic
dose
either harmless or cause injury
Adverse effects
unintended, undesirable, and often unpredictable severe responses to medication
Toxic effects
develop after prolonged intake of a medication or when a medication accumulates in the
blood because of impaired metabolism or exretion
Idiosyncratic reactions
patient overreacts or underreacts to a medication or has a reaction different from normal
Allergic reactions
patients become immunologically sensitized to the initial dose of a medication
acts as an antigen, triggering the release of antibodies in the body
High incidence of allergic reactions
can be caused by antibiotics
Anaphylactic reactions
severe allergic reactions that are life-threatening
sudden constriction of bronchiolar muscles, edema of the pharynx and larynx, and
severe wheezing and short of breath
Medication
substance used in the diagnosis, treatment, cure, relief, or prevention of health
problems
Pure Food and Drug Act
law simply requires all medications to be free of impure products
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
ensures that all medications on the market undergo vigorous testing before they are
sold to the public.
MedWatch program
voluntary program encourages nurses and other health care professionals to report
when a medication, product, or medical event causes harm to a patient
Nurse Practice Acts (NPAs)
define scope of nurses' professional functions and responsibilities
protect the public from unskilled, undereducated, and unlicensed personnel
Some medications have as many as three different names
chemical, generic or nonproprietary name, and trade name or proprietary name
Medication classification
indicates the effect of the medication on a body system, the symptoms the medication
relieves, or its desired effect
Forms of medications
tablets, capsules, elixirs, and suppositories
Pharmacokinetics
study of how medications enter the body, reach their site of action, metabolize, and exit
the body
Absorption
passage of medication molecules into the blood from the site of medication
administration
Influences of absorption
route of administration,
ability of medication to dissolve,
blood flow to site of administration, body surface area, and
lipid solubility of medication
Skin absorption
is slowest because of physical makeup of skin
IV injection absorption
is most rapid absorption because they are immediately available when they enter the
systemic circulation
The richer the blood supply at site of administration
the faster the medication is absorbed
Majority of medications are absorbed in
the small intestine rather than the stomach due to contact with larger surface area
Highly lipid-soluble medications
cross cell membranes easily and are absorbed quickly
, Distribution
after absorbed, it is distributed within the body to tissues and organs and ultimately to its
specific site of action
Circulation
how fast it reaches the site depends on vascularity of the various tissues and organs
Protein binding
most medications partially bind to albumin, they cannot exert pharmacological activity
Metabolism
after reaching its site, it becomes metabolized into less active or inactive form for easy
excretion
Biotransformation
occurs under the influence of enzymes that detoxify, break down, and remove active
chemicals
occurs within the liver (sometimes in the lungs, kidneys, blood, and intestines)
After medications are metabolized
exit the body through the kidneys, liver, bowel, lungs, and exocrine glands
Gaseous and volatile compounds
exit through the lungs
Lipid-soluble medications
excreted through exocrine glands
Medication from the hepatic circulation
broken down by the liver and excreted into bile
Kidneys
are the main organs for medication excretion
Therapeutic effect
is expected or predicted physiological response that a medication causes
Side effects
predictable and often unavoidable secondary effects produced at a usual therapeutic
dose
either harmless or cause injury
Adverse effects
unintended, undesirable, and often unpredictable severe responses to medication
Toxic effects
develop after prolonged intake of a medication or when a medication accumulates in the
blood because of impaired metabolism or exretion
Idiosyncratic reactions
patient overreacts or underreacts to a medication or has a reaction different from normal
Allergic reactions
patients become immunologically sensitized to the initial dose of a medication
acts as an antigen, triggering the release of antibodies in the body
High incidence of allergic reactions
can be caused by antibiotics
Anaphylactic reactions
severe allergic reactions that are life-threatening
sudden constriction of bronchiolar muscles, edema of the pharynx and larynx, and
severe wheezing and short of breath
