ROUTES OF DRUG ADMINISTRATION
1. INTRODUCTION
There are many ways to administer drugs to our bodies. Varieties of drug administration help a lot in any situation
where a drug can’t be administered to a patient who might not be able to consume the drug normally. Simply put,
routes of drug administration is said to be the route through which a medicine enters the body for the treatment,
diagnosis, or prevention of certain illnesses and disorders.
2. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHOICE OF DRUG ADMINISTRATION
a) The dosage form of the available drug
● If the drug is available in tablet form, then it will be taken through mouth.
b) Patient’s age
● Too young and too old patient is not suitable to take drug orally.
c) Patient’s condition
● If the patient is unconscious, we can’t give oral drug to the patient.
d) Onset & Duration of action
● If we need immediate response of drug or even during emergency, then we need to use IV injection. This is
because the drug will go directly to the tissue
e) The need to bypass hepatic metabolism
● Taking the drug orally causes the drug to undergo First Pass Effect in the liver. This will make the amount of drug
that reach the tissue is lower.
3. TYPES OF DRUG ADMINISTRATION
a) ENTERAL
EXAMPLE: Oral (PO)
EXPLANATION: The drug is administered by consuming the drug by swallowing, chewed or even dissolve it in the
mouth. This is one the most common methods as most drugs are always available in solid dosage form.
ADVANTAGES:
● Easy to manufacture
• Safer than parenteral routes because oral administration takes some time to react and thus can be controlled if
given the wrong dose.
● Cheap compared to parenteral route drug
● Does not require complex equipment and technique to administer it.
● Convenient because patient can take the drug by themselves
DISADVANTAGES:
● Hard to swallow if the drug has an unpleasant taste
● Effect is too slow for emergencies because the drug needs to be digested first
● Not useful if the patient has a vomiting issue
● Requires the patient’s cooperation because some people are scared to swallow them
● Amount of drug that reached the body tissue might be less from the FPE
b) PARENTERAL:
EXAMPLE: Intravenous administration
EXPLANATION: The drug is given by injection through the skin into the vein such as blood stream. It is also one of the
common parenteral route administrations as it permits fast effect over circulating the levels of drug.
ADVANTAGES:
● Bypass the first pass effect it goes directly to the tissue
● Drug does not to undergoes absorption phase because it doesn't pass digestive system
● Therapeutic effect can be seen immediately since it skipped absorption phase.
● Drugs can be delivered at uniform rate
● Useful to administer drug that can irritate GI tract
DISADVANTAGES:
● Need special devices to allow drug to enter directly into the vein
● More expensive because of uses of devices
● Causes pain at the site of injection
● Time and skill is required to perform the IV injection
● Drug must be in aqueous form because it can enter the small size of vein
c) TOPICAL:
EXAMPLE: Transdermal patch
EXPLANATION: It is a patch containing the medication which is used to be applied and placed on the skin as it
delivers a specific dose of medication. The medication will penetrate the skin and goes into the blood circulation.
ADVANTAGES:
● Receive better compliance from patient because patient aren't scared to use patch unlike oral drug.
● Easy to apply because they just need to stick to their skin.
● Avoid first pass metabolism
● Drug is delivered to a specific site
● Provide effective effect from continuous input of low concentration of drug
DISADVANTAGES:
● Patch might be uncomfortable to wear
● Patch may fall of without notice
● May causes rashes and irritation because the formulation might be sensitive to patient’s skin
● Only lipophilic drug can be used in transdermal patch because it can penetrate stratum corneum unlike hydrophilic
drug.
● Only potent drug can be used in transdermal patch
4.CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Drugs are normally absorbed into the circulation as free drugs after entering the body. So it is a good
practice to overview the diseases, patient’s condition, and the properties of the drug first before administering the
drug to ensure the required therapeutic effect is achieved while also able to avoid other unnecessary side effects of
the drug too.
Oral drug is taken with fluid (water) to ease swallowing Correct way of IV injection techniques
Transdermal patch for the back
5. REFERENCES
a) WEBSITES
-Pharmapproach. (2023). Routes of Drug Administration: An Overview. Pharmapproach.com. Retrieved from
https://www.pharmapproach.com/routes-of-drug-administration/
- Pharmapproach. (2023a). Intravenous Route of Drug Administration: Advantages and Disadvantages.
Pharmapproach.com. Retrieved from https://www.pharmapproach.com/intravenous-route-of-drug-administration-
advantages-and-disadvantages/
- Pharmapproach. (2023c). Topical Route of Drug Administration: Advantages and Disadvantages.
Pharmapproach.com. Retrieved from https://www.pharmapproach.com/topical-route-of-drug-administration-
advantages-and-disadvantages/
- Pharmapproach. (2023d). Transdermal Route of Drug Administration: Advantages and Disadvantages.
Pharmapproach.com. Retrieved from https://www.pharmapproach.com/transdermal-route-of-drug-administration-
advantages-and-disadvantages/
b) ARTICLE
- Kelly C. Wade, 2019
c) BOOKS
- Finkel, R., Clark, M. A., & Cubeddu, L. X. (2009). Pharmacology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
