Pharmacology Study Guide Flashcards

U.S. Drug Safety Laws

• 1906: Pure Food and Drug Act

  • Prevented misbranding and adulteration of drugs.

• 1938: Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

  • Required drug safety testing before approval.

• 1951: Amendment

  • Distinguished between prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.

• 1970: Controlled Substance Act

  • Created drug schedules based on potential for abuse and medical use.

DEA Drug Schedules

• C-I:

  • Examples: Heroin, LSD

  • Characteristics: No accepted medical use, high potential for abuse.

• C-II:

  • Example: Oxycodone

  • Characteristics: High risk of abuse, tightly regulated.

• C-III:

  • Example: Tylenol with Codeine

  • Characteristics: Moderate abuse risk.

• C-IV:

  • Example: Lorazepam

  • Characteristics: Low risk of abuse.

• C-V:

  • Example: Cough medications with codeine

  • Characteristics: Lowest risk of abuse.

Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP)

• State-run systems that track the prescriptions of controlled substances.

• Information on scheduled drugs must be uploaded to the PDMP.

Drug Reference Parts

• Indications:

  • The diseases or conditions a drug is used to treat.

• Actions:

  • How the drug works at a physiological level.

• Cautions:

  • Warnings about potential side effects, adverse reactions, or interactions.

• Drug Classes:

  • Groups of drugs that have similar chemical structures, mechanisms of action, and/or therapeutic uses.

Off-Label Use

• Using an approved drug for a condition or in a way that is not approved by the FDA.

• Off-label use means the drug is being used for an unapproved condition.

Tall-Man Lettering

• Use of mixed-case letters to help distinguish between drug names that look alike.

• Example: CeleBREX vs. CeleXA

Tylenol No. 3 Meaning

• The '3' in Tylenol No. 3 indicates the amount of codeine present in the medication.

• Specifically, it means that each tablet contains 30 mg of codeine.

Rights of Drug Administration

• Right Route:

  • Ensuring the drug is administered via the correct route of administration (e.g., oral, intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous).

  • Administering a drug via the incorrect route constitutes a medication error.

• Other Rights:

  • Right client

  • Right time

  • Right dose