Goals
Statements that are time specific and describe generally what is to be accomplished to address a specific nursing diagnosis. Goals are developed in collaboration with the patient and are objective, verifiable, realistic, and measurable statements about ch
Medication error
Any preventable adverse drug event involving inappropriate medication use by a patient or health care professional; it may or may not cause the patient harm.
Nursing process
An organizational framework for the practice of nursing. It encompasses all steps taken by the nurse in caring for a patient: assessment, nursing diagnoses, planning (with goals and outcome criteria), implementation of the plan (with patient teaching), an
Outcome criteria
Descriptions of specific patient behaviors or responses that demonstrate meeting of or achievement of goals related to each nursing diagnosis. These statements, like goals, should be verifiable, framed in behavioral terms, measurable, and time specific. O
Additive effects
drug interactions in which the effect of a combination of two or more drugs with similar actions is equivalent to the sum of the individual effects of the same drugs given alone (compare with synergistic effects)
Adverse drug event (ADE)
Any undesirable occurrence related to administering or failing to administer a prescribed medication.
Adverse drug reaction (ADR)
Any unexpected, unintended, undesired, or excessive response to a medication given at therapeutic dosages (as opposed to overdose).
Adverse effects
Any undesirable bodily effects that are a direct response to one or more drugs. These effects may include side effects, which are generally considered to be relatively minor adverse effects that are expected to occur in a percentage of the population rece
Agonist
A drug that binds to and stimulates the activity of one or more biochemical receptor types in the body.
Allergic reaction
An immunologic hypersensitivity reaction resulting from the unusual sensitivity of a patient to a particular medication; a type of ADE.
Antagonist
A drug that binds to and inhibits the activity of one or more biochemical receptor types in the body. Antagonists are also called inhibitors.
Antagonistic effects
drug interactions in which the effect of a combination of two or more drugs is less than the sum of the individual effects of the same drugs given alone; it is usually caused by an antagonizing (blocking or reducing) effect of one drug on another.
Bioavailability
A measure of the extent of drug absorption for a given drug and route (from 0% to 100%)
Biotransformation
One or more biochemical reactions involving a parent drug. Biotransformation occurs mainly in the liver and produce a metabolite that is either inactive or active. Also known as metabolism.
Chemical name
The name that describes the chemical composition and molecular structure of a drug.
Contraindication
Any condition, especially one related to a disease state or other patient characteristic, including current or recent drug therapy, that renders a particular form of treatment improper or undesirable.
Cytochrome P-450
General name for a large class of enzymes (found especially in the liver) that play a significant role in drug metabolism.
Dissolution
the process by which solid forms of drugs disintegrate in the gastrointestinal tract, become soluble, and are absorbed into the circulation.
Drug
Any chemical that affects the physiologic processes of a living organism.
Drug actions
the cellular processes involved in the interaction between a drug and body cells (e.g., the action of a drug on a receptor protein); also called mechanism of action.
Drug effects
the physiologic reactions of the body to a drug. They can be therapeutic or toxic and constitute how the function of the body is affected as a whole by the drug. The terms onset, peak, and duration are used to describe drug effects (most often referring t
Drug-induced teratogenesis
The development of congenital anomalies or defects in the developing fetus caused by the toxic effects of drugs
Drug interaction
Alteration in the pharmacologic activity of a given drugs; it is usually related to effects on the enzymes required for metabolism of the involved drugs.
Duration of action
the length of time the concentration of a drug in the blood or tissues is sufficient to elicit a therapeutic response.
Enzymes
Protein molecules that catalyze one or more of a variety of biochemical reactions, including those related to the body's own physiologic processes as well as those related to drug metabolism.
First-pass effect
The initial metabolism in the liver of a drug absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract before the drug reaches systemic circulation through the bloodstream.
Generic name
The name given to a drug by the United States Adopted Names Council. Also called the nonproprietary name. The generic name is much shorter and simpler than the chemical name and is not protected by trademark.
Half-life
In pharmacokinetics, the time required for half of an administered dose of drug to be eliminated by the body (also called elimination half-life).
Idiosyncratic reaction
an abnormal and unexpected response to a medication, other than an allergic reaction, that is peculiar to an individual patient.
Incompatibility
the quality of two parenteral drugs or solutions that leads to a reaction resulting in the chemical deterioration of at least one of the drugs when the two substances are mixed.
Medication error ( ME)
Any preventable ADE involving inappropriate medication use by a patient or health care professional; it may or may not cause patient harm.
Medication use process
the prescribing, dispensing, and administering of medications, and the monitoring of their effects.
Metabolite
- A chemical form of a drug that is the product of one or more biochemical (metabolic) reactions involving the parent drug. Active metabolites are those that have pharmacologic activity of their own, even if the parent drug is inactive (see prodrug. Inact
Onset of action
the time required for a drug to elicit a therapeutic response after dosing
Parent drug
the chemical form of a drug that is administered before it is metabolized by the body's biochemical reactions into its active or inactive metabolites (see metabolite). A parent drug that is not pharmacologically active itself is called a prodrug. A prodru
Peak effect
the time required for a drug to reach its maximum therapeutic response in the body.
Peak level
- the maximum concentration of a drug in the body after administration, usually measured in a blood sample for therapeutic drug monitoring.
Pharmaceutics
the science of preparing and dispensing drugs, including dosage form design (e.g., tablets, capsules, injections, patches, etc.)
Pharmacodynamics
the study of the biochemical and physiologic interactions of drugs at their sites of activity. It examines the physicochemical properties of drugs and their pharmacologic interactions with body receptors.
Pharmacogenetics
the study of the influence of genetic factors on drug response, including the nature of genetic aberrations that result in the absence, overabundance, or insufficiency of drug-metabolizing enzymes (also called pharmacogenomics)
Pharmacognosy
the study of drugs that are obtained from natural plant and animal sources. This science was formerly called material medica (medicinal materials) and is concerned with the botanical or zoologic origin, biochemical composition, and therapeutic effects of
Pharmacokinetics
the rate of drug distribution among various body compartments after a drug has entered the body. It includes the phases of absorption, disruption, metabolism, and excretion of drugs.
Pharmacology
Broadest term for the study or science of drugs.
Pharmacotherapeutics
The treatment of pathologic conditions through the use of drugs.
Prodrug
An inactive drug dosage form that is converted to an active metabolite by carious biochemical reactions once it is inside the body. Often a prodrug is more readily absorbable than is its active metabolite, hence the need for its development.
Receptor
A molecular structure within or on the outer surface of a cell. Receptors bind specific substances (e.g., drug molecules), and one or more corresponding cellular effects (drug effects) occurs as a result of this drug-receptor interaction.
Steady state
The physiologic state in which the amount of drug removed via elimination is equal to the amount of drug absorbed with each dose.
Substrate
A substance (e.g., drug or natural biochemical in the body) on which an enzyme acts.
Synergistic effects
Drug interactions in which the effect of a combination of two or more drugs with similar actions is greater than the sum of the individual effects of the same drugs given alone (compare with additive effects).
Therapeutic drug monitoring
The process of measuring drug peak and trough levels to gauge the level of a patient's drug exposure and allow adjustments of dosages with the joint goals of maximizing therapeutic effects and minimizing toxicity.
Therapeutic effect
The desired or intended effect of a particular medication.
Therapeutic index
The ratio between the toxic and therapeutic concentrations of a drug. If the index is low, the difference between the therapeutic and toxic drug concentrations is small, and use of the drug is more hazardous.
Toxic
the quality of being poisonous ( e.g., injurious to health or dangerous to life.)
Toxicity
the condition of producing adverse bodily effects due to poisonous qualities.
Toxicology
The study of poisons. It deals with the effects of drugs and other chemicals in living systems, their detection, and treatments to counteract their poisonous effects.
Trade name
The commercial name given to a drug product by its manufacturer; also called the proprietary name. the presence of a trade name indicates that a particular drug is registered and that its production is restricted to the owner of the patent for that drug u
Trough level
The lowest concentration of drug reached in the body after it falls from its peak level, usually measured in a blood sample for therapeutic drug monitoring.