Pharmacology Activity 1

How many half-lives does it take for a medication to be clinically cleared from the body?

4-5

Your patient is taking metronidazole which will cause a severe reaction if he drinks alcohol while taking the medication. The medication has an 8 hour half life. How long until the medication is clinically cleared from his body and he can have a beer with his friends?

40 hours

What kind of drug is itraconazole

An antifungal drug

What kind of drug is Tacrolimus

An immunosuppressant

What does ADME stand for as it relates to the processes of pharmacokinetics

Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion

Your patient was told to take Sudafed 12 hour sustained release 120mg tabs twice daily. The pharmacy has generic immediate release pseudoephedrine 30mg tabs on sale. Which dose is correct if he uses the immediate release tablets. 1. 120 mg (4 tabs) twice daily 2. 60 mg (2 tabs) twice daily 3. Never buy generic; it is inferior

60 mg (2 tabs) four times daily

Levodopa is a drug that when taken orally is turned into its active form, dopamine. This is an example of:

A prodrug

How long would the oral marijuana take for onset

At least 20-30 minutes to begin

How can you mimic the blood levels of a sustained release product with immediate release products

By giving smaller doses more often

Why would the inhaled marijuana have the highest blood levels over oral marijuana

First pass metabolism will reduce the oral bioavailability of he THC in the tablets. It does not affect other routes of administration such as inhaled

Hypertension

High blood pressure

Compare the pharmacokinetics of oral marijuana tablets vs. inhaled marijuana. Which has the fastest onset of action

Inhaled

One of the active ingredients in the marijuana plant (THC) undergoes extensive first-pass metabolism. Therefore, which route of administration is expected to achieve the highest blood levels?

Inhaled

Why is Inhaled marijuana more dangerous than Oral Marinol

Inhaled marijuana may contain over 400 active ingredients and may contain substances added by the seller (PCP, opioids). It is even more dangerous as far as toxicity to the lungs than cigarette smoking

Why is Oral Marinol safer than Inhaled marijuana

It contains just one active ingredient, THC. And the tablets are prepared in clean conditions with consistent ingredients and dosing

What is a prodrug

It is a drug that is inactive but is made active in the body

Which route of marijuana administration (oral or inhaled) do you think is the safest (e.g. purest ingredients, standardized dosing)?

Oral (Marinol)

Mr. Brown has difficult to control hypertension. Therefore, he takes three different blood pressure medications, hydrochlorothiazide, ramipirl, and amlodipine to control it. This is an example of:

Synergistic effects

Tacrolimus and itraconazole are both metabolized by the same cytochrome P450 enzyme. Itraconazole is strong INHIBITOR of that enzyme. Predict what change you would expect to see in the plasma concentration of tacrolimus

Tacrolimus plasma concentration will increase

How does a sustained release product work?

The drug slowly releases over the period of time that the medicine works to give nice and steady levels

How long would the inhaled marijuana take for onset

The drugs will reach the brain about 7-10 seconds after the inhilation

How does an immediate release tablet work

The medicine is released all at once instead of over a duration of time