Introduction to Pharmacology
Drugs are poisons – have respect for them
Drugs interact with receptors – they are selective but never specific!
Definitions
Pharmacology: the study of the interaction of chemical agents with biological systems
the science of drugs, drug handling, and drug action
Pharmacodynamics (drug acts on body)
: the subset of pharmacological principles that describe drug action
What drugs do; physiological, biochemical or molecular action
Pharmacokinetics (body acts on drug)
: the study of the time course of action of a drug or its metabolites within the body
study of getting drugs to where they work
Pharmacogenetics
: our genetics determine how we react to particular drugs
different people react differently to drugs
Drug Statistics
18 – 30% of hospital patients have a drug reaction of some sort
3 – 5% of patients in hospitals are admitted
due
to the drugs they are taking
If you have a problem with the drug your taking, it
doubles
your length of stay in the hospital
23% of prescribed drugs are considered inappropriate prescriptions
79% of prescriptions written have an error (ie spelling, wrong dosage, illegible)
average # of drugs outpatients are on = 6
average # of drugs taken per capita in Australia = 8
~ # of drugs inpatients are on = 10