Nurs 615 Pharm Exam 1 – Maryville Latest 2023 (100%
Correct Answers)
How does hypoalbuminemia affect the process of prescribing? – correct answer
✅Low albumin = more free drug (bc the drug can’t bind to albumin aka protein) =
increased adverse effects
What is a Black Box Warning: – correct answer ✅is considered a contraindication
to administer that drug.
What is the drugs half-life? – correct answer ✅Half-life specifically means the
amount of time it takes for an administered drug to be halfway cleared from the
system.
Peak of action: – correct answer ✅the time between drug administration and
maximum concentration of drug in the blood stream. Best therapeutic effect.
Duration of action: – correct answer ✅the time between onset of action and
metabolism of drug below the minimum needed for an effect. The length of time
you have the drug in your system.
According to the WHO what is the first step in the prescribing process? – correct
answer ✅The first step is to define the patient’s problem
Nurs 615 Pharm Exam 1 – Maryville Latest 2023 (100%
Correct Answers)
The second step is to – correct answer ✅specify the therapeutic objective
The third step is to – correct answer ✅choose which drug or treatment is needed.
Step 4 of the WHO approach: – correct answer ✅Start the treatment
Step 5 of the WHO approach: – correct answer ✅Educate the patient
Step 6 of the WHO approach: – correct answer ✅Monitor the treatment
Phase 1 of drug development: – correct answer ✅The drug is tested on healthy
volunteers
Phase 2 of drug development: – correct answer ✅trials with people who have the
disease for which the drug is thought to be effective
Phase 3 of drug development: – correct answer ✅Large numbers of patients in
medical research centers receive the drug in phase 3. This larger sampling
provides information about infrequent or rare adverse effects. The FFA will
approve a new drug application if phase 3 studies are satisfactory.
Nurs 615 Pharm Exam 1 – Maryville Latest 2023 (100%
Correct Answers)
Phase 4 of drug development: – correct answer ✅This phase is voluntary and
involves postmarket surveillance of the drug’s therapeutic effects at the
completion of phase 3. The pharmaceutical company receives reports from
doctors and other health care professionals about the therapeutic results and
adverse effects of the drug. Some medications, for example, have been found to
be toxic and have been removed from the market after their initial release.
Explain first pass metabolism – correct answer ✅much of the drug is lost in the
absorption process. The liver metabolizes many drugs, thus reduces the
bioavailabilty of the drug.
What is the fasted route of absorption: – correct answer ✅The fastest route of
absorption is inhalation, and not as mistakenly considered the IV administration.
Why does the GI tract take longer to absorb? – correct answer ✅The GI tract is
lined with epithelial cells; drugs must permeate through these cells in order to be
absorbed into the circulatory system.
What is One particular cellular barrier that may prevent absorption of a given
drug? – correct answer ✅the cell membrane. Cell membranes are essentially lipid
bilayers which form a semipermeable membrane. Pure lipid bilayers are generally
How does hypoalbuminemia affect the process of prescribing?
is considered a contraindication to administer that drug.
According to the WHO what is the first step in the prescribing process?
The first step is to define the patient’s problem
specify the therapeutic objective
choose which drug or treatment is needed.
The drug is tested on healthy volunteers
trials with people who have the disease for which the drug is thought to be effective
This phase is voluntary and involves postmarket surveillance of the drug’s therapeutic effects at the completion of phase 3. The pharmaceutical company receives reports from doctors and other health care professionals about the therapeutic results and adverse effects of the drug. Some medications, for example, have been found to be toxic and have been removed from the market after their initial release.
What is the fasted route of absorption:
Why does the GI tract take longer to absorb?
What is One particular cellular barrier that may prevent absorption of a given drug?
Why does absorption occur at a slower rate for oral, IM, SQ routes?
The ability of a drug to cross a cell membrane depends on:
As a drug travels through the body, it comes in contact with?
proteins such as the plasma protein albumin. The drug can remain free or bind to the protein. The portion of a drug that’s bound to a protein is inactive and can’t exert a therapeutic effect. Only the free, or unbound, portion remains active. A drug is said to be highly protein-bound if more than 80% of the drug is bound to protein.
Identify drug metabolism and the role of isoenzymes in the p450 system
Naturally occurring compounds may induce or inhibit CYP activity.
What does grapefruit have to do with CYP?
Grapefruit is an inhibitor and will decrease the metabolism of drugs by the cyp enzymes
When 2 drugs are both metabolized by the p450 system the drug should be
What is the efficacy of a drug?
On the drug concentration curve what is the first sign of a therapeutic effect?
What is the purpose of a peak and trough level?
To determine if the drug is in therapeutic range.
Describe the purpose of blood brain barrier
The BBB is a highly selective permeability barrier that separates the circulating blood from the brain and extracellular fluid in the CNS. The BBB is formed by brain endothelial cells which are connected by tight junctions with an extremely high electrical resistivity of at least 0.1 micron. The BBB allows the passage of water, some gases, and lipid soluble molecules by passive diffusion as well as the selective transport molecules such as glucose and amino acids that are crucial to neuro function.
Describe the purpose of the fetal placental barrier
the so-called placental barrier impedes certain chemicals although it allows most fat soluble chemicals to cross. Drugs that are more water soluble and that possess a higher molecular weight tend not to cross the placental barrier. In addition, if a drug binds to a large molecule, such as a blood-borne protein like albumin, it is even less likely to come into contact with fetus.
How will renal insufficiency affect drug elimination?
The kidney is the primary organ of excretion for most drugs. General theme of metabolism is to produce drug metabolites that are more water soluble and more easily removed by the kidneys. The rate at which the drug is excreted by the kidneys depends on several factors. Renal blood flow influences the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) which is how much plasma is filtered per minute by the glomerulus.
Renal excretion of drugs is typically well-characterized, what is variable is the
level of renal function the patient.
Patients with poor renal function may have higher levels of drugs secondary to
decreased excretion of metabolites.
What is off-label prescribing?
What factors place an infant and child at risk when prescribing medication?
In general, there is a lack of safety and efficacy studies in the pediatric population most medications are studied in adult populations which because of age-related differences and medication metabolism and mechanisms of action don’t necessarily apply to pediatric populations. Children are not just small adults. Adverse drug reactions are most common in this age group. Kids do not have a fully mature liver and renal function, and are at higher risk for toxicity and adverse drug effects.
What ADRs are the elderly at risk of developing?
In the elderly, Hepatic blood flow decreases by
nearly one-half or 40% in older adults.
some degree of chronic kidney disease is present in X of older adult
Heart failure, which affects more than forty percent of persons older than 80 years, can
further reduce the function of the aging kidneys and liver.
Other factors influence pharmacokinetics in older adults include
aging decreases first-pass clearance in the liver, and a number of commonly prescribed medications like warfarin, benzos, and opiates require much lower doses in older adults. Distribution of drugs to body compartments has changed by the decrease in the ratio of lean body weight to body fat. Levels of serum protein, which bind many drugs, decrease in older adults because of malnutrition and dietary changes that are common for both intentional and unintentional regions. Drug metabolism can be affected by substance abuse including alcohol, up to ten percent of older adults are heavy or problem drinkers. Polypharmacy.
What are the adverse drug reactions related to special populations?
Type 1 hypersensitivity or immediate hypersensitivity is an
In type 2 hypersensitivity or cytotoxic hypersensitivity,
An example of type 2 hypersensitivity is the
ABO blood incompatibility where the red blood cells have different antigens causing them to be recognized different. B-cell proliferation will take place in antibodies until foreign blood types are produced. IgG and IgM antibodies bind to these antigens to form complexes that activate the classical pathway of the complement activation to eliminate cells presenting foreign antigens. that is mediators of acute inflammation are generated at the site and the membrane attack of complexes cause cell lysis and death. This reaction takes between hours to a day.
Type-3 hypersensitivity occurs when
there is an accumulation of immune complexes or antigen-antibody complexes that may not have been adequately cleared by innate immune cells, giving rise to an inflammatory response and attraction of leukocytes. Such reactions progress into the point of disease producing immune-complex diseases. The reaction can take hours, days, or even weeks to develop depending on whether or not there is immunologic memory of the precipitating antigen. Typically, clinical features emerged a week following initial antigen challenge from the deposited immune complexes that can precipitate the inflammatory response. Type 4 hypersensitivity is often called delayed-type hypersensitivity, as a reaction take 2-3 days to develop. unlike other types it is not antibody-mediated but rather cell mediated response.
Which medications interact with St. John’s Wort?
Which medications interact with St. John’s Wort?
St. John’s Wort is a medicinal herb with antidepressant activity and potent anti-inflammatory properties. St. John’s wort has interactions with medications such as SSRI antidepressants, warfarin, and birth control. Combining St. John’s Wort and SSRI antidepressants, could lead to an increased serotonin level causing serotonin syndrome. Combining estrogen containing oral contraceptives with St. John’s Wort can lead to a decreased efficacy of the contraceptive and eventually unplanned pregnancies. It is also known to decrease the efficacy of HIV medications, cholesterol medications, as well as transplant medications. It should be noted however that traditional SSRI antidepressants such as fluoxetine carry similar contraindications. Use nonjudgmental approach so they tell u what herbs they take. Tricyclics and SJW can increase the risk for serotonin syndrome.
It is an alpha-1 adrenergic receptor blocker that inhibits the binding of norepinephrine released from sympathetic nerve terminals to the alpha 1 receptors in the membrane of vascular smooth muscle cells. the primary effect of this inhibition is relaxed vascular smooth muscle tone or vasodilation, which decreases peripheral vascular resistance leading to decrease blood pressure. is used to treat high blood pressure and urinary retention associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Doxazosin also shows potential for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and erectile dysfunction. Doxazosin has shown some efficacy in in treating chronic epididymitis. Adverse effects include orthostatic hypotension and reflex tachycardia.
Alpha blockers end in “zosin” are mostly used for
What is the action of effective beta-blockers?
Betablockers – first choice for HTN?
They have been used in hypertension but no longer our treatment of first choice
Beta-blockers block the action of
The three types of beta receptors what are they?
They are known designated beta-1, beta-2, and beta-3 receptors.
Beta-1 adrenergic receptors are located mainly in the
lungs, GI tract, liver, uterus, vascular smooth muscle and skeletal muscle.
Beta-3 adrenergic receptors are located in
Beta receptors are found on cells of the
chronotropy, inotropy, dromotropy, renin release and lypolysis.
There are two types of beta-blockers;
there are non-selective agents, adn selective agents
Beta 1 selective agents, also known as cardio selective, they have
Beta-adrenergic blockers, the most widely used adrenergic blockers, work by:
Pharmacokinetics of Beta-adrenergic blockers
they are usually absorbed rapidly and well from the GI tract and are somewhat protein-bound. Food doesn’t inhibit—and may even enhance—their absorption. Some betaadrenergic blockers are absorbed more completely than others. Beta-adrenergic blockers have widespread effects in the body because they produce their blocking action not only at adrenergic nerve endings but also in the adrenal medulla.
What are the adverse effects of beta-blockers? (16)
hypotension, bradycardia, peripheral vascular insufficiency, atrioventricular block, heart failure, fatigue, bronchospasm, diarrhea or constipation, nausea and vomiting, abdominal discomfort, anorexia, flatulence, rash, fever with sore throat, spasm of the lower neck, respiratory distress as an allergic response.
Adverse effects associated with beta-2 adrenergic receptor antagonists’ activity will include
Beta blockade especially the beta 1 receptor at the macula densa inhibits
renin release thus decreasing the release of aldosterone this cause hyponatremia and hyperkalemia.
Beta 1 selected blockers can increase
In general, beta blockers should be avoided in
Beta blockers are also contraindicated in patients with
Beta-blockers should be avoided in patients with a history of
cocaine use or cocaine induced tachycardia.
adverse drug reactions associated with use of beta-blockers include (22)
nausea, diarrhea, bronchospasm, dyspnea, cold extremities, exacerbation of Raynaud’s, syndrome, bradycardia, hypotension, heart failure, heart block, fatigue, dizziness, alopecia, abnormal vision, hallucinations, insomnia, nightmares, sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, and or alteration of glucose and lipid metabolism
What effect will result with rapid withdrawal of a beta-blocker?
DO NOT MISS ANY DOSES, high rick of stroke due to HTN if stopped abruptly.
Clonidine treats high blood pressure by stimulating alpha 2 receptors in the brain, which decrease peripheral vascular resistance lowering blood pressure. The risk of rebound hypertension is increased in alpha agonist, so it’s important that you do not miss any doses. Usually used when others are not controlling. If stopped can result in rebound HTN urgency, concern for CVA
What are the adverse effects of a beta 1 selective blocker?
Serious side effects that are advised to be reported immediately include symptoms of bradycardia, which is a resting heart rates lower than 60 beats per minute, symptoms of dizziness, fainting, and unusual fatigue, bluish discoloration of the fingers and toes, numbness tingling swelling of the hands and feet, sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, hair loss, mental or mood changes, depression, trouble breathing, cough, dyslipidemia, and increased thirst.
What is a cholinergic blockers?
What effect is produced of cholinergic blockers?
Anticholinergics inhibit parasympathetic nerve impulses by selectively blocking the binding of neurotransmitter acetylcholine to its receptor and nerve cells. The nerve fibers in the parasympathetic system are responsible for the involuntary movement of smooth muscles present in the GI tract, urinary tract, and lungs.
Anticholinergic drugs are used to treat a variety of conditions, such as
GI disorders like gastritis, diarrhea, pylorospasm, diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, nausea and vomiting; genitourinary disorders cystitis, urethritis, prostatitis; respiratory disorders like asthma, chronic bronchitis, COPD, sinus bradycardia due to hypersensitive vagus nerve, insomnia although usually only for a short term basis, dizziness including vertigo, motion sickness related symptoms.
Anticholinergics side effects:
decrease saliva production and most produce some level of sedation, both being advantageous for surgery procedures. For many of these effects cholinergic analogues produce the opposite effect so it would be helpful for you to go through and note make another chart with the cholinergic receptors and what happens when you block them and you simulate them and all the different organ systems.
Cholinergic blockers are often used to treat
GI disorders and complications.
All cholinergic blockers are used to treat
spastic or hyperactive conditions of the GI and urinary tracts because they relax muscles and decrease GI secretions. These drugs may be used to relax the bladder and to treat urinary incontinence. The quaternary ammonium and amine compounds such as propantheline are the drugs of choice for these conditions because they cause fewer adverse reactions than belladonna alkaloids. •
What are Belladonna alkaloids?
This is used with morphine to treat biliary colic (pain caused by stones in the bile duct). •
Who gives the ARNP authority to practice and prescribe medications?
It’s the state board of nursing in your respective state
Carvedilol is what type of blocker and what is its brand name?
alpha and beta blockers which is sold in the brand name Coreg,
It primarily works by vasodilation of the peripheral vasculature, thereby decreasing the workload of the heart. It is a non-selective beta-blocker and also an alpha 1 blocker, belongs to the third generation of beta-blockers. It is particularly useful in African Americans. The starting dose is 6.25 to 25 milligrams, by mouth, twice a day, and should be administered with food to prevent postural hypertension.
What race does Coreg work best for?

What are anticholinergic drugs used for?
How many half lives does it take to reach a steady-state?
When the rate of administration = the rate of elimination
How would you use a drugs half life for prescribing?
What is the half-life of Digoxin?
half life of 24-36 hours. A change in dose would take a week to take effect.
What is the half life of amiodarone?
58 days – so it is usually started with a loading dose to acheive the clinical effect more quickly.
is used to measure the strength of an acid in solution.
is a measure of concentration of hydrogen ions in an aqueous solution.
The Henderson – Hasselbach equation solves:
If you know either pH or pKa you can solve for the other value using an approximation
Type of Type 1 hypersensitivity
Anaphalactic reaction (immune system gone wild)
example of Type 2 hypersensitivity
rH negative mother, giving birth to rH negative baby.
What happens with type 2 hypersensitivity
antibodies bind to the cell and neutralize the cell
what happens with type 3 hypersensitivity
Example of type 3 hypersensitivity
What happens with type 4 hypersensitivity
example of type 4 hypersensitivity
What three meds should not be combined with St. Johns wort?
SSRI antidepressants, Warfarin, Birth control
What happens when St. John’s Word is combined with SSRI antidepressants
It increases serotonin levels causing serotonin syndrome.
What happens when St. John’s Word is combined with birth control
It decreases the efficacy of the contraceptive; unplanned pregnancies
What happens when St. John’s Word is combined with Warfarin
st. john’s wort oral will decrease the level or effect of warfarin oral by altering drug metabolism.
St. John’s Wort also ____ the effectiveness of
HIV medications, cholesterol medications, and transplant medications
Activation of Alpha 2 receptors results in
How does Alpha 2 receptors lower BP?
ALpha 1 receptors are located mainly on…
Vascular smooth muscle (blood vessels, arteries, veins, urinary sphincters,)
breakdown of glycogen to glucose
Alpha 1 leads to inhibition of renin release which effects BP by
Renin is excreted by the kidneys and helps to lower BP
Alpha 2 recpetors are generally considered to work with the…..
Alpha 2 receptors affect the pancreas by
Beta 1 receptors are located mainly on the X and lead to X HR
Another place to find Beta 1 receptors is on the X, which releases X
Kidney, renin; which increases BP
Beta 2 receptors are mainly located on the X, but also located on;
Beta 3 receptors are mainly located in X tissue
adrenergic agonsists are made of 2 groups called…
catacholemine, non catacholemine
There are 3 types of adrenergic agonists
direct acting, indirect acting,mixed action
Direct acting agonsists bind to
alpha and beta receptors mimic NP and epinephrine. Non-selective –
Main route of direct acting agonists
increased cardiac output, increased BP
Norepinephrine stimulates which receptors
Alpha 1 – vasoconstriction (increased BP)
Indications for Norepinephrine
cardiac arrest and hypotensive shock
The three main meds of direct acting agonists (non-selective)