To show the organization of the course that includes this module, follow this link Course organization
Aim of the unit of General Pharmacology within the course " Physiopathology applied to Nursing" is to give students the basics related to mechanism and use of drugs, with reference to pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacovigilance. Basic concepts in pharmacology prepare the nurse to the management and surveillance of pharmacological therapies and to educating patient about their medications. The General Pharmacology module is preparatory to the study of each class of drugs, starting from anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drugs. Further knowledge will be gained with the Clinical Pharmacology module.
Basic principles of Pharmacology and introduction to the drugs on the market
Definition of drug, active substance, pharmaceutical product, vehicle, excipient, placebo effect
Evaluation of drugs efficacy: the randomized clinical trial
Different sources of drugs. How drugs enter the market
Bioequivalent and biosimilar drugs
Italian drug market. Drugs reimbursment by the National Health Service. OTC and SOP drugs, different types of prescriptions. Package inserts: therapeutic indications, dosages, warnings and contraindications. The off-label use
International classification of drugs: Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System. How to measure drug use: the Defined Daily Dose (DDD)
Pharmacodynamics
Drugs classification depending on therapeutic usages. Basic principles of mechanisms of drug action: drug receptors, drug-receptor interaction: agonism and antagonism. Pharmacological, physiological and chemistry antagonisms
Pharmacokinetics
Drugs absorption. Main characteristics of different drug administration routes: advantages and disadvantages. Bioavailability of drugs. Food-drugs interactions
Drugs distribution in the body. Carriers and efflux pumps. Factors that may influence drugs distribution: blood-brain and placental barriers
Characteristics of drug metabolism. Enzyme induction and inhibition
Drug clearance. Factors affecting drug clearance
Definition and meaning of dose, maximum dose, daily dose, dosing, therapeutic index, clearance, half-life, peak blood levels, therapeutic range, toxic concentrations, accumulation
Relationship between plasma concentrations of drugs and their action
Factors to be taken into account in determining the dose of a drug, and in case of repeated administrations, dosing interval
How to calculate pharmaceutical doses
Pharmacotherapy
Risk/benefit and cost/benefit analyses of drugs: basics. Adverse drug reactions: mechanisms and risk factors. The spontaneous reporting system of adverse drug reactions: regulation and role of nurses
Antibacterial drugs: general issues and characteristics of the main classes of antibacterial drugs. Basics of antivirals and vaccines.
Antiviral drugs
General concepts on vaccines
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): epidemiology, pharmacological mechanisms, main therapeutic uses, adverse reactions
Reference books | |||||
Author | Title | Publisher | Year | ISBN | Note |
Di Giulio A.M. Gorio A. Carelli S. Cella S.G. Scaglione F. | Farmacologia generale e speciale. Per le lauree sanitarie (Edizione 2) | Piccin | 2018 | 978-88-299-2942-9 | |
Taglialatela Conforti Cuzzolin Leone Mattioli Moretti Pignataro Vanzetta | Farmacologia per le lauree triennali e magistrali II Edizione (Edizione 2) | Sorbona | 2019 |
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