Transcript File - Mr. Lavoie`s Science Webpage

Pharmacy
Michael Lavoie
6/18/12
Middlesex Community College
Veterinary Assistant Program
Types of Drugs

Chemical Name
 Provides
scientific and technical information
 Is a precise description of the substance

Geriatric (nonproprietary) name:
 Official
identifying name of the drug
 Describes the active drug (i.e. famotidine)
 Written using lowercase letters
Types of Drugs

Brand (trade, proprietary) name:
 Establishes
legal proprietary recognition for the
corporation that developed the drug
 Is registered with the U.S. patent office and is used
only by the company that has registered the drugs
 Is written in capital letters or begins with a capital
letter and has a superscript R by its name

Example: Pepcid AC
Sources of Drug Information

Package insert
 Provided with drugs to reach regulatory requirements
 Registered trade name, generic name, controlled substance
notation if warranted
 Description or composition statement
 Clinical pharmacology, actions or mode of action
 Contradictions
 Warnings
 Adverse reactions or side effects
 Overdosage information
 Dosage administration
 Storage
 How supplied
Sources of Drug Information

Drug References
 Bound
book of information on package inserts
Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR): human
approved drugs
 Veterinary Pharmaceuticals and Biologicals (VPB)
 Compendium of Veterinary Products (CVP)

Expiration Dates



Expiration dates is the date before which a drug
meets all specifications and which the drug can
no longer be used
Expiration dates are assigned based on the
stability of or experience with the drug
Expiration dates with drugs that are mixed at the
clinic may vary depending on the reconstitution
and refrigeration status of the drug
Drugs used in the Veterinary Clinic
Veterinary drugs are those approved only
for use in animals
 Human drugs are approved by the FDA
and guidelines for their use in foodproducing animals is provided in the
Compliance Policy Guide
 A veterinary/client/patient relationship
must be established before any
medication is prescribed for an animal

System of Measurement in the
Veterinary Field
House hold system: Lacks stardardization;
not accurate for measuring medicine.
 Metric system: developed in the 18th
century to standardize measurement for
European countries

 Prefixes
denote increases or decreases in
size of unit

Apothecary system: system of liquid units
of measure used chiefly by pharmacists
Metric System
Units are based on factors of 10
 Base units are meter (length), liter
(volume), and grams (weight)
 Prefixes commonly used:

 Micro=
one millionth of a unit= 0.000001
 Milli-= one thousandth of a unit= 0.001
 Centi-= one hundredth of unit= 0.01
 Kilo-= one thousand units= 1,000
Conversion


Move decimal point appropriate direction based
on units
Examples:
 -kg
to g= move decimal point 3 places to the right
 - g to kg= move decimal point 3 places to the left
 l to ml= move decimal point 3 places to the right
 ml to l= move decimal point 3 places to the left
Remember…
When converting from larger units to
smaller units the quantity gets larger
 When converting from smaller units to
larger units the quantity gets smaller

Temperature Conversions
In the Fahrenheit system, water freezes at
32 degrees: water boils at 212 degrees
 In the Celsius system, water freezes at 0
degrees; and water boils at 100 degrees
 Comparison

 C=
F - 32/1.8
 F=1.8C + 32
Dose Calculations
Must know the correct amount of drug to
administer to a patient
 Must be in a system of measurement
 Weight conversion factor: 2.2 lbs = 1 kg
 Remember that drugs can be measured in
mcg, mg, g, ml, l, units
 Remember that drugs can be dispensed or
administered in tablets, ml, l and capsules.

Skin anatomy and physiology

The skin is made up of three layers:
 Epidermis:
(the most superficial layer that
contains cells but not blood vessels
 Dermis: middle layer that is composed of
blood and lymph tissues, nerve tissues, and
accessory organs of skin such as glands and
hair follicles
 Subcutaneous: deepest layer that is
composed of connective tissue
Drugs Used for Treating Skin
Disorders
Topical treatments consist of agents
applied to the surface; they affect the area
in which they are applied
 Systematic treatments consist of drugs
that are given systematically that affect
many areas of the body

Drugs Used in Treating Pruritus

Topical antipruritics provide moderate relief of itching
(may be used with systemic medication)

Topical nonsteroidal antipruritics


Soothing agents


Oatmeal has soothing and anti-inflammatory effects
Antihistamines


Local anesthetics such as lidocaine, tetracaine, benzocaine, and
pramoxine
Products containing diphenhydramine calm pain and itching due to
allergic reactions and sensitive skin
Topical corticosteroids

Variety of products such as hydrocortisone
Drugs Used in Treating Seborrhea


Seborrhea is characterized by abnormal flaking
or scaling of the epidermis and may be
accompanied by increased oil production
(seborrhea oleasa) or not (seborrhea sicca)
Keratolytics are an important group of
antiseborrheics
 Keratolytics
remove excess keratin and promote
loosening of the outer layers of the epidermis
 Keratolytics break down the protein structure of the
keratin layer, permitting easier removal of this
material
Other Agents Used to
Treat Skin Disorders
Astringents are agents that constrict
tissues
 Antiseptics are substances that kill or
inhibit the growth of microbes on living
tissue
 Soaks and dressings are substances
applied to areas to draw out fluid or relieve
itching

Ophthalmic Drugs

Things to consider when using topical
ophthalmic drugs
 They
must be absorbed into the anterior
chamber
 They may be administered at different
frequencies depending on whether they are in
ointment or solution form
 They must be relatively easy to administer so
that client compliance occurs
Otic Medications

Many drug combinations are used in veterinary medicine
to treat ear disease, including:







Antibiotics
Antiparasitics
Antifungals
Corticosteroids (in combination with anti-infectives)
Otic drying agents
Otic cleansing agents
Otic dewaxing agents
Inflammatory drugs

Inflammation is a useful and normal process that
consists of a series of events, including vascular
changes and release of chemicals that help destroy
harmful agents at the injury site and repair damaged
tissue



Vasodilation increases permeability of blood vessels in the early
phase
Accumulation of leukocytes, reduced blood flow, chemical
release (histamine, prostaglandin, and bradykinin) and tissue
damage in cellular phase
Severe inflammation must be reduced to avoid additional
damage to the body
Antibiotics



An antimicrobial is a chemical substance that has the
capacity, in diluted solutions, to kill (biocidal activity) or
inhibit the growth (biostatic activity) of microbes
The goal of antimicrobial treatment is to render the
microbe helpless (either by killing them or inhibiting their
replication) and not to hurt the animal being treated
Antimicrobials can be classified as:





Antibiotics
Antifungals
Antivirals
Antiprotozoals
Antiparasitics
Antibiotics

Antibiotics work only on bacteria and are described by
their spectrum of action (range of bacteria for which the
agent is effective)



Narrow-spectrum antibiotics work only on either gram-positive or
gram-negative bacteria (not both)
Broad-spectrum antibiotics work on both gram-positive and
gram-negative bacteria (but not necessarily all)
Antibiotics can be classified as bactericidal or
bacteriostatic


Bactericidals kill the bacteria
Bacteriostatics inhibit the growth or replication of bacteria
Considerations When Using
Antibiotics

Antibiotic resistance
 Means
that the bacteria survive and continue to
multiply after administration of the antibiotic
 Occurs when bacteria change in some way that
reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of the agent
used to cure or prevent the infection
 Can develop through bacterial mutation, bacteria
acquiring genes that code for resistance, or other
means
Behavior Modification Drugs

The use of drugs to treat problem behaviors is
only a small part of treating animal behavior
problems
 Must
correctly diagnose the condition, examine the
social conditions, and alter external stimuli

Potential side effects of long-term use
 Liver,

kidney, and cardiovascular problems
Used extra-label
 Must
have veterinarian/client/patient relationship
Classes of Behavior-Modifying
Drugs
 Anti-anxiety drugs: Attempt to decrease anxiety
 Examples include diphenhydramine and hydroxzine
 Antidepressants: are used to treat various mood
changing disorders (such as aggression), and
cognitive dysfunction in animals

Prozac, etc.
 Hormones:
Progestrins and estrogens have calming
effects due to their suppression of male-like behaviors
Herbal Medicines
Alternative medicine refers to treatments
or therapies that are outside accepted
conventional medicine
 Complementary medicine refers to the use
of alternative therapies with or in addition
to conventional treatment

Types of Alternative and
Complementary Medicine

Veterinary acupuncture and acutherapy


Veterinary chiropractic


Examination, diagnosis, and treatment of animals through
manipulation and adjustments
Veterinary physical therapy


Examination and stimulation of body points by use of
acupuncture needles, injections, and other techniques for the
diagnosis and treatment of conditions
Use of noninvasive techniques for rehabilitation
Veterinary homeopathy

Treatment by administration of substances that are capable of
producing clinical signs in healthy animals
Types of Alternative and
Complementary Medicine

Veterinary botanical medicine
 Uses
plants and plant derivatives as therapeutic
agents

Nutraceutical medicine
 Uses
micronutrients, macronutrients, and other
nutritional supplements as therapeutic agents

Holistic veterinary medicine
 Comprehensive
approach to health care using both
alternative and conventional diagnostic techniques
and therapeutic approaches
General Guidelines for Herbs

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Ask all clients whether they give herbs or other
supplements to their animals
Inform clients that herb-drug interactions exist
Encourage the use of standardized products from
respected manufacturers
Use herbal therapies in recommended doses
Avoid herbs with known toxicities
Do not use herbs in pregnant or nursing animals, the
very young, or the very old
Accurate diagnosis of the animal’s condition is essential
to evaluate all therapeutic options
Document all herb or supplement use in the animal’s
medical record