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
