Introduction to Drug Action
INTERPLAY OF PHARMACODYNAMICS &
PHARMACOKINETICS
What is it?
EFFICACY of Drug
Therapy
(how well the drug works)
- is evaluated using components of
both pharmacodynamics and
pharmacokinetics.
SIDE EFFECTS
- are responses in tissues where
the drug’s effects are neither
needed nor wanted, causing
problematic, but not harmful,
symptoms such as nausea,
fatigue, headache, and similar
uncomfortable responses.
TOXICITY
- implies drug poisoning, the
consequences of which can be
extremely harmful and may
become life-threatening. “the dose
makes the poison.” All drugs must
be treated as potential “toxins.”
Classes of Medications:
AGONIST
drug that produces a stimulation-
type (activates the receptor)
response; mimics, able to initiate a
response. (Mimic Ligand-Receptor
Activation Responses)
PHARMACODYNAMICS
- is the study of “what the drug does to the
body.” It describes qualitatively the
therapeutic activity of a drug once it is in the
bloodstream and characterizes the
interaction of the drug with its target site,
known as the mechanism of action (MOA).
Variability in Pharmacodynamics
circulation.
The differences between individual persons:
• Body size and body mass (volume of
distribution)
• Gender
• Chronological age
• Genetics/pharmacogenetics
• General health of the person
• Psychological aspects (e.g., placebo effect)
tract)
The drug itself:
• Dosage
• Potency of the drug
• How the drug is formulated (e.g., liquid,
capsule, tablet, sustained release)
• Route of medication administration (e.g., IV,
oral, inhalation)
• Single dose (acute) versus maintenance
(chronic) versus steady state
• Physiological tolerance of the drug (i.e.,
drug allergy, drug resistance)
• Interaction with other drugs and other
substances that may be present in the body
exclusively excreted via the kidneys into urine.
DRUG
- is a substance or chemical
capable of altering a biochemical
or physiological process(es) in
the body; these responses may
be desirable (therapeutic) or
undesirable (adverse). Drugs do
not confer any new functions on a
tissue or organ in the body; they
simply modify existing functions.
MEDICATION
- is used for the purpose of
restoring a dysfunctional or
pathologic process in the
body to its desired function
or process; conventionally
termed a “medicine”.
ANTAGONIST
drug that binds to the receptor site
and blocks or depresses the
biological response for that receptor.
(Block the Receptor’s Activation
Response)
PHARMACOKINETICS
- is referred to as “what the body does to
the drug” It is the quantitative (numerical)
study of the rate of drug movement
throughout the body, focusing on the
biological processes by which substances
move in the body as a function of time.
Absorption: The process of drug movement, from
the site of administration, into the systemic
Factors Affecting the Rate and Extent of
Absorption:
• The route of drug administration
• Degree of complexity of the membrane
• Physiochemical properties of the drug
• Surface area at the site of absorption
• Dosage form of the drug
• Physiology of the patient (i.e., motility of the GI
Distribution: The process of drug movement, from
the systemic circulation, to the site of drug action.
Metabolism: Chemical alteration(s) to the
structure of the drug molecule.
Elimination: Process(es) of irreversible drug
removal from the body.
General Rules of Excretion:
• Drugs with molecular weights (MW) in excess of
500 are mainly excreted in the bile.
• Drugs with MW between 300 and 500 are
excreted in both the urine and the bile.
• Drugs with MW less than 300 are almost
REFERENCE:
CHAPTER 2 OF NURSING PHARMACOLOGY BY SMITH