Nomenclature of Drugs Flashcards
1
Q
What is a drug?
A
- Substance used in diagnosis, tx or prevention of disease
- Active ingredient contained within a medication
- Has a specific action on physiological or biochemical processes in the body
- If used at recommended dose, the effect produced by a drug should have relatively few side effects or adverse drug reactions (ADRs)
2
Q
What is medicine?
A
Agents used to treat disease or injury – each medicine usually contains at least one drug
3
Q
What is a pharmaceutical?
A
Drug or medicine that is prepared or dispensed in a pharmacy & which is used in tx of medical conditions
4
Q
What is the international non-proprietary name?
A
- Name that describes actual drug within the medicine – commonly used when describing a product
- Active ingredient in the med that is decided by an expert committee & is understood internationally (INN)
- Should be recorded on clinical records rather than brand names
- Common stems – to identify particular drug belonging to a group of drugs w/ similar pharmacological activity
o E.g. propranolol, atenolol, bisoprolol are b-adrenoreceptor antagonists (Beta Blockers)
5
Q
What is the brand or proprietary name?
A
- Name of actual product (box of tablets, bottle of drops) in which the drug or active ingredient is included
- Uniquely identifies the particular basic principles of therapeutics combination of a drug or active ingredients
- Legislation usually allows a pharmaceutical company a time-limited monopoly on the use of this name & therefore the supply of that particular combo of ingredients
- The company owns a patent for that product
- The brand, or proprietary, name is usually capitalised & can be registered (NameR) or trademark name (NameTM)
- Name itself can be printed on container, the packaging provided with container &/or on a label on a dispensing container provided by the Pharmacist
- The patented name owned by a particular pharmaceutical company
6
Q
What are generics?
A
- ‘Copies’ of a branded product after patent expiration
- Not always identical to brand equivalent (can include/exclude other ingredients such as dyes or flavourings but active drug should be equivalent)
- Normally the INN
- Those sold w/o brand name, once patent for a branded product expires, other companies produce generic copies of same pharmaceutical
- Can also be manufactured if pharmaceutical contains an ingredient that is not covered by the patent protection of original branded product
- Specifies the drug i.e. includes the INN or NPN, & has a prefix or suffix which identifies the company producing the generic product
- Some drugs have dual names as result of changes to spelling of original drug to make names easier
o E.g. Chlorpheniramine renamed as Chlorphenamine, Acyclovir renamed as aciclovir, sodium cromoglycate renamed as sodium cromoglicate
7
Q
What is the order that you should look at the BNF in for a drug a px has told you about?
A
- Indications: drug approved use, some drugs are used “off-label”
- Contraindications: when a drug should not be used & has potential to cause harm
- Cautions: where precautions are required e.g. monitoring of liver function, increased risk of renal impairment, may change iris colour, monitor IOP, susceptibility to angle-closure glaucoma
- Interactions: where drug affects activity of another drug when administered together
o E.g. phenylephrine drops may interact w/ sympathomimetics – beta blockers, certain anti-depressants - Side Effects: effect of drug that is in addition to its intended effect. Can be desired (generally undesirable)
o BNF states common, rare or very rare
o Can occur in particular px groups
o Can be ocular (local) or systemic
o May need to warn a px about a side effect and what to do if it occurs SO BE AWARE!!