Medication Errors
Permission from Elsevier; the Journal of Emergency Medicine 2011;40(5):485–92 1. Prescribing This involves the assessment for the need to prescribe a drug and the selection of the said drug. …
Drugs and the Neuromuscular System
Fig. 17.1 Structure of neuromuscular junction (With permission from Oxford University Press; Br J Anaesth CEPD Rev. 2002;2(5):129–33) The area of the nerve which lies closest to the muscle cell…
The Pediatric Patient
Fig. 20.1 Blood levels of a child exposed to doses of chloramphenicol calculated according to body weight (solid line) and blood levels in the child exposed to doses adjusted downwards…
Drugs and the Respiratory System
Mechanism of Action of β2 Agonists Activation of β2 receptors (β2AR) by β2 agonist results in activation of adenylyl cyclase (AC) via a stimulatory G protein (Gs). This leads to…
Drugs and the Cardiovascular System
Fig. 11.1 The mechanism by which catecholamine exerts its effects. Gs-GTP: Stimulating Guanosine nucleotide-binding protein-Guanosine Triphosphate complex; cAMP: cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate; Ca2+: Calcium; SR: sarcoplasmic reticulum (Reproduced with permission from…
Drugs and the Renal System
Chronic kidney disease is defined as either kidney damage or GFR < 60 ml/min/1.73m2 for 3 months. Kidney damage is defined as pathologic abnormalities or markers of damage, including abnormalities in blood, urine…
Drug Interactions
Pharmacodynamic Interaction This occurs when the action or effect of a drug modulates that of another drug, producing a clinical response that differs from that anticipated from either drug when…
Drugs and the Central Nervous System
Fig. 13.1 Escalating cycle of brain swelling resulting in energy failure, increase in brain damage and poor outcome following injury to the brain (With permission of Wolters Kluwer Health; Decompressive…
The Allergic Patient
Other pharmacologic effects through beta1– receptors: Increase heart rate and force of cardiac contractions. For all cases of anaphylaxis, the World Allergy Organisation and the National Institutes of Health-National Institute…
Drug Absorption and Bioavailability
Fig. 3.1 A schematic diagram showing the enteral routes of drug administration (oral, sublingual and rectal) and their relative susceptibility to first-pass elimination, influencing the absorption and bioavailability of a…
