Sally Mugabe Central Hospital - School of Nursing Examination Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering pharmacology, clinical nursing concepts, maternal-child health, and medical conditions based on examination papers from Sally Mugabe Central Hospital School of Nursing.

Pharmacology

The branch of science and medicine concerned with the study of drug action, including their origins, composition, pharmacokinetics, therapeutic uses, and toxicology.

Pharmacokinetics

The study of the bodily absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of drugs over time ('what the body does to the drug').

Pharmacodynamics

The study of the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs on the body and the mechanisms of their actions ('what the drug does to the body').

Half-life ($t_{1/2}$)

The time required for the concentration of a drug in the plasma or the total amount of the drug in the body to be reduced by $50\%$.

Efficacy

The maximum therapeutic response or effect that a drug can produce, regardless of the dose administered.

Toxicity

The degree to which a substance can cause harmful, poisonous, or fatal physiological effects on an organism or specific organs.

Antagonist

A drug or substance that binds to a specific physiological receptor and prevents or inhibits the action of an agonist without eliciting a biological response itself.

Drug Tolerance

A pharmacological concept wherein repeated administration of a drug results in a diminished response, necessitating larger doses to achieve the initial therapeutic effect.

Drug Resistance

The reduction in effectiveness of a drug such as an antimicrobial or antineoplastic agent in curing a disease or condition due to adaptations by microorganisms or cancer cells.

Drug Abuse

The habitual, excessive, or non-medical use of a chemical substance that deviates from approved medical or social patterns, resulting in adverse physical, mental, or social consequences.

Addiction

A chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking, continued use despite harmful consequences, and long-lasting chemical changes in the brain.

Adverse Effect

An unintended, undesirable, and harmful effect of a medication that occurs at doses normally used in clinical practice for prophylaxis, diagnosis, or therapy.

Parkland's Formula

A burn resuscitation formula used to calculate fluid replacement in the first 24 hours: $\text{Total Fluid (mL)} = 4\,mL \times \text{weight (kg)} \times \text{percentage total body surface area (TBSA) burned}$.

PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis)

A short-term course of antiretroviral medications taken within 72 hours following potential exposure to HIV to reduce the risk of infection.

PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis)

A daily antiretroviral regimen taken by HIV-negative individuals who are at high risk of exposure to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV.

PMTCT

Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission; clinical and public health interventions designed to prevent the spread of HIV from an HIV-positive mother to her baby during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or breastfeeding.

VMMC

Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision; a surgical removal of the foreskin of the penis used as an efficacious biomedical intervention to reduce female-to-male HIV transmission risk.

IMNCI

Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness; an integrated approach to child health that focuses on the assessment, classification, and treatment of common childhood conditions and malnutrition.

Palliative Care

An approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing life-threatening illness through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment of pain and other physical, psychosocial, and spiritual problems.

IUCD

Intrauterine Contraceptive Device; a small, T-shaped birth control device inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy.

ASRH

Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health; health services and educational interventions addressing the physical, psychological, and social well-being of adolescents in relation to sexuality and reproduction.

Digoxin

A cardiac glycoside derived from the Digitalis purpurea plant that increases myocardial contractility (positive inotropic effect) and decreases heart rate (negative chronotropic effect) by inhibiting the $\text{Na}^+/\text{K}^+\text{-ATPase}$ pump.

Pethidine

A synthetic opioid (narcotic) analgesic indicated for the relief of moderate to severe acute pain, particularly in obstetric labor and post-operative care.

Coartemether

An artemisinin-based combination therapy (artemether and lumefantrine) used as a first-line treatment for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Metronidazole

A synthetic nitroimidazole antibacterial and antiprotozoal drug indicated in the management of anaerobic bacterial infections, trichomoniasis, amebiasis, and sexual assault prophylaxis.

Ceftriaxone

A broad-spectrum third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic that inhibits bacterial cell wall synthesis; administered parenterally for severe infections like meningitis, pneumonia, and gonorrhea.

Nevirapine

A non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) antiretroviral agent used in the management of HIV-1 infection and PMTCT.

Dolutegravir

An integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) antiretroviral drug used as part of first-line combination therapy for HIV-1 infection.

Furosemide

A potent loop diuretic that acts on the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop to promote diuresis; commonly indicated for edema in heart failure, renal disease, and hepatic cirrhosis.

Praziquantel

An anthelmintic agent indicated for the treatment of schistosomiasis (bilharzia) and various fluke and tapeworm infections.

Phenobarbitone

A long-acting barbiturate used as an anticonvulsant to prevent and manage generalized tonic-clonic seizures and status epilepticus.

Ophthalmia Neonatorum

A form of conjunctivitis occurring in neonates during the first four weeks of life, typically contracted during delivery from mothers infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Chlamydia trachomatis.

Chancroid

A sexually transmitted bacterial infection caused by Haemophilus ducreyi, clinically presenting with painful genital ulcers and regional lymphadenopathy (buboes).

Kwashiorkor

A severe form of protein-energy malnutrition characterized by marked generalized edema, hypoalbuminemia, an enlarged fatty liver, moon face, and dermatological changes.

Marasmus

A severe form of energy malnutrition resulting from overall caloric deficiency, presenting with profound muscle wasting, loss of subcutaneous fat, and an 'old man's face' appearance without edema.