Pharmacology and Anesthetics Notes

Inhalation medications are typically the least expensive, most convenient, and lowest in cost. It's often the preferred initial approach.

Pharmacology includes controls for population safety.
Patient safety is ensured through controls on drugs.
Problems with drugs often involve substances that alter the CNS (e.g., opioids) leading to abuse.
Cholinergic and anticholinergic drugs also present considerations.
Anticholinergics block receptors competitively; they bind to receptors without causing a cellular effect, preventing acetylcholine from binding and eliciting a response.

Cholinergic activity occurs constantly, influencing various bodily functions.
Adrenergic activity is more intermittent, typically associated with stress or anxiety.
When patients are anxious or stressed, it's important to understand the underlying cause.
Adrenaline and epinephrine are the same thing, originating from the adrenal glands.
The adrenal cortex produces cortisol, aldosterone, and accessory sex hormones.

Focus is placed on understanding what adrenergic, cholinergic, antiadrenergic, and anticholinergic medications are.

First-line defense for oral organisms include Penicillin VK.
Penicillin VK is safe for pregnant individuals.
Damage can occur when people are unaware of their pregnancy, highlighting the importance of awareness and caution, especially with medications.

Seizures and trigeminal neuralgia are addressed similarly by shutting down accessory signals to facial muscles to stop contractions.

General anesthetics and nitrous oxide are important topics.
Stages of anesthesia are 1, 2, 3, and 4.
At stage 3, respiratory depression occurs, requiring ventilation.
Nitrous oxide should ideally keep the patient in stage 1; stage 2 is an excitatory stage that should be avoided.
Ketamine is an intramuscular (IM) medication.
Opioids are commonly used, but carry risks of addiction and respiratory depression.
Caution is necessary when using general anesthetics with opioids in patients already taking opioid pain medications.

The standard average dose is 35%.
Administer oxygen five minutes afterward to prevent diffusion hypoxia.
Regularly check patient responses.
Board questions often involve increasing anesthetic concentrations in 10% increments, with 5 minutes between adjustments.

Anesthetics with high tissue solubility have a rapid onset but slow recovery.
Nitrous oxide has low solubility in blood, causing rapid onset and offset, which can lead to diffusion hypoxia if not managed properly with oxygen supplementation.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors can control blood pressure through the angiotensin system.
The sinoatrial (SA) node initiates heart contractions.