Pharmacology Flashcards

Flashcards for Pharmacology Exam Review

Analgesics

Drugs that relieve pain without causing loss of consciousness; sometimes referred to as painkillers

Adjuvant analgesic drugs

Drugs that are added for combined therapy with a primary drug and may have additive or independent analgesic properties, or both

Opioid analgesics

Synthetic drugs that bind to opiate receptors to relieve pain

Opioid naive

Patients who are receiving opioid analgesics for the first time and who therefore are not accustomed to their effects

Opioid tolerance

A normal physiologic condition that results from long-term opioid use, in which larger doses of opioids are required to maintain the same level of analgesia

Opioid tolerant

The opposite of opioid naïve; describes patients who have been receiving opioid analgesics (legally or otherwise) for a period of time (1 week or longer)

Opioid withdrawal

The signs and symptoms associated with abstinence from or withdrawal of an opioid analgesic when the body has become physically dependent on the substance

Opioids

A class of drugs used to treat pain; often used interchangeably with the term narcotic

Pain

An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage

Special pain situations

The general term for pain control situations that are complex and whose treatment typically involves multiple medications and nonpharmacologic therapeutic modalities

Superficial pain

Pain that originates from the skin or mucous membranes; opposite of deep pain

Synergistic effects

Drug interactions in which the effect of a combination of two or more drugs with similar actions is greater than the sum of the individual effects of the same drugs given alone

Tolerance

The general term for a state in which repetitive exposure to a given drug, over time, induces changes in drug receptors that reduce the drug's effects

Vascular pain

Pain that results from pathology of the vascular or perivascular tissues

Visceral pain

Pain that originates from organs or smooth muscles

World Health Organization (WHO)

An international body of health care professionals that studies and responds to health needs and trends worldwide

Sedatives

Drugs that have an inhibitory effect on the CNS to the degree that they reduce nervousness, excitability, and irritability

Hypnotics

Drugs that cause sleep; much more potent effect on CNS than sedatives

Anxiolytic

Medication that relieves anxiety

Benzodiazepines: Drug Effects

Calming effect on the CNS; useful in controlling agitation and anxiety; reduces excessive sensory stimulation, inducing sleep; induces skeletal muscle relaxation

Zolpidem (Ambien)

A short-acting nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic with a lower incidence of daytime sleepiness compared with benzodiazepine hypnotics

Eszopiclone (Lunesta)

The first hypnotic to be FDA approved for long-term use and is designed to provide a full 8 hours of sleep

Ramelteon (Rozerem)

Structurally similar to the hormone melatonin and works as an agonist at melatonin receptors in the CNS; Indicated for patients who have difficulty with sleep onset rather than sleep maintenance

Barbiturates

Formerly the most commonly prescribed sedative-hypnotic drugs, now often replaced by benzodiazepines

Muscle Relaxants

Act to relieve pain associated with skeletal muscle spasms; majority are centrally acting

Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril)

A centrally acting muscle relaxer and the most common used muscle relaxer

CNS Stimulants

Drugs that stimulate a specific area of the brain or spinal cord

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

The most common psychiatric disorder in children characterized by an inappropriate ability to maintain attention span or the presence of hyperactivity and impulsivity

Amphetamines

Stimulate areas of the brain associated with mental alertness

Anorexiants

Any substance that suppresses appetite; Used to treat obesity

Anorexiants: Mechanism of Action

Suppresses appetite control centers in the brain; increases the body’s basal metabolic rate; mobilizes adipose tissue stores; enhances cellular glucose uptake; reduces dietary fat absorption

Orlistat (Xenical)

A related nonstimulant drug used to treat obesity; works locally in the small and large intestines, where it inhibits absorption of caloric intake from fatty foods

Migraine

A common type of recurring headache, usually lasting from 4 to 72 hours

Serotonin Receptor Agonists

Used to treat migraine headaches; Stimulate 5-HT1 receptors in the brain

Mechanism of Action Triptans

Migraine medications that stimulate 5-HT receptors in cerebral arteries, causing vasoconstriction and reducing headache symptoms; reduce the production of inflammatory neuropeptides

Ergot alkaloids

Migraine medications that was the mainstay of treatment of migraine headaches but have been replaced by the triptans for first-line therapy

Antimigraine Drugs (Cont.)

Were the mainstay of treatment of migraine headaches but have been replaced by the triptans for first-line therapy

Mechanism of Action Ergot alkaloids

Migraine medications that narrow or constrict blood vessels in the brain

Caffeine

Used with caution in patients with a history of peptic ulcer, recent myocardial infarction, or dysrhythmias

Anesthesia

A state of reduced neurologic function

Anesthetics

Drugs that reduce or eliminate pain by depressing nerve function in the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system

Adjunct anesthetics

Drugs that enhance clinical therapy when used simultaneously with another drug

Malignant hyperthermia

Occurs during or after volatile inhaled general anesthesia or use of the neuromuscular blocking drug (NMBD) succinylcholine; life-threatening emergency treated with cardiorespiratory supportive care and dantrolene (skeletal muscle relaxant)

Local Anesthetics

Also called regional anesthetics; used to render a specific portion of the body insensitive to pain

Types of Local Anesthesia

Types of local anesthesia including spinal, infiltration, nerve block, and topical

Neuromuscular Blocking Drugs

Prevent nerve transmission in skeletal and smooth muscle, resulting in muscle paralysis

Neuromuscular Blocking Drugs: Depolarizing Drugs

Works similarly to neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh), causing depolarization; metabolism is slower than Ach; therefore, as long as succinylcholine is present, repolarization cannot occur which results in flaccid muscle paralysis

Physical dependence

Any of several conditions in which a patient takes a drug over a period of time and unpleasant physical symptoms (withdrawal symptoms) occur if the drug is stopped abruptly or smaller doses are given

Pain that originates from skeletal muscles, ligaments, or joints.

Somatic pain

Hydromorphone: very potent; Schedule II drug.

Opioid analgesic