Definition of Drugs

Definition : Any substance (other than food) that is used to prevent, diagnose, treat, or relieve symptoms of a disease or abnormal
condition. Drugs can also affect how the brain and the rest of the body work and cause changes in mood, awareness, thoughts, feelings, or
behavior. Some types of drugs, such as opioids, may be abused or lead to addiction.
purposes : It is used for diagnosis

 It treats the disease condition
 To prevent health alterations
 To promote health condition
 To treat infections, allergic and inflammation
 To relieve pain
Routes of drug administration :

The route of a drug depends on its properties, desired effect, and patient’s physical and mental condition
 Oral administration: it is the most common route and the most convenient route for most patients
 Sublingual: the drug is placed under the tongue and letting it slowly dissolve, e.g. nitroglycerine
 Inhalations: the patient inhales the fumes in the lung to have a local and systemic effect, e.g. nitrous oxide (anesthetic effect)
 Inunctions (topical application): it is the application of the drug to the skin, usually by a friction, e.g. ointment
 Instillation: it is putting a drug in liquid form into the body cavity, such as urinary bladder or into body orifices such as ears, eyes and nose
 Insertions: means introducing solid forms of drugs into the body orifices, e.g. suppositories are introduced into the rectum or vagina
 Implantation: means planting or putting in of solid drugs into the body tissues
 Parenteral administration: parenteral means giving of therapeutic agents outside the alimentary tract. It is the type if administration accomplished
by a needle
Subcutaneous: into the subcutaneous tissue
Intradermal: into the dermis
Intravenous: into the vein
Intraarterial: into the artery
Intracardiac: into the cardiac muscles
Intrathecal: into the spinal cavity
Intraosseous: into the bone marrow
Intraperitoneal: into the peritoneal cavity
Rights of drug administration

Eight Rights of Giving Medication
Right Patient
 Check the name on the order and the patient

 Use 2 identifiers
 Ask patient to identify himself/herself
 When available, use technology (for example, bar-code system)
Right Medication
 Check the medication label
 Check the order
Right Dose
 Check the order

 Confirm appropriateness of the dose using a current drug reference
 If necessary, calculate the dose and have another nurse to calculate the dose as well
Right Route
 Again, check the order and appropriateness of the route ordered

 Confirm that the patient can take or receive the medication by the ordered route
Right Time
 Check the frequency of the ordered medication

 Double-check that you are giving an ordered dose at the correct time
 Confirm when the last dose was given
Right Documentation
 Document administration after giving the ordered medication

 Chart the time, route, and any other specific information as necessary. For example, the site of an injection or any laboratory value or vital sign
that needed to be checked before giving the drug
Right Reason
 Confirm the rationale for the ordered medication. What is the patient’s history? Why is he/she taking this medication?
 Revisit the reasons the long-term medication use
Right Response
 Make sure that the drug led to the desired effect. If an antihypertensive was given, has his/her blood pressure improved? Does the patient
verbalize improvement in depression while on an antidepressant?
 Be sure to document your monitoring of the patient and any other nursing interventions that are applicable
Weight and measurement
Units of Measurement for Drug Calculations

When carrying out drug calculations, you will need to be familiar with the units of measurement used. These units form part
of the Standard International (SI) system of measurement, also referred to as the Metric System.
Quantity Units Symbol Relationship
Mass (weight) kilogram Kg
gram g 1 Kg = 1,000 g
milligram mg 1 g = 1,000 mg
Quantity Units Symbol Relationship
microgram mcg or μg 1 mg = 1,000 μg
Volume litre L
millilitre ml 1 L = 1,000 ml
cubic centimetre cc 1 ml = 1cc
Amount mole mol
millimole mmol 1 mol = 1,000 mmol
How to Convert between Units

You will come across situations where you need to convert a measurement from one unit to another, for example, from
micrograms to milligrams or from litres to millilitres.
You will need to do this if quantities given in a calculation are not in the same units. In this case, convert one of the
quantities so that they are in the same units.
Tip: Unless the units required are specified, it is a good idea to convert to the smaller units so that you are dealing
with whole numbers rather than decimal values.
The main units used are those that are a thousand times bigger or smaller.

We could replace grams in the diagram with litres, metres or moles. The same prefixes would be used.
Example 1
Express 5mg in micrograms.
Solution
To convert milligrams to micrograms we need to multiply by 1000.
As we are dealing with a whole number, this would involve adding three zeros on the end.
5 mg = 5 × 1000 = 5000 μg or 5000 mcg
Example 2
Express 0.5g in milligrams.
Solution
To convert grams to milligrams we need to multiply by 1000.
As we are dealing with a decimal value, multiplying by a thousand would involve moving the decimal place three places to
the right.
Let’s add some zeros on the end so we have somewhere to move the decimal point to.
The last zero isn’t needed as it comes after the decimal point.
So 0.5 g = 0.5 × 1000 = 500 mg
Example 3
Express 300ml in litres.
Solution
To convert millilitres to litres we need to divide by 1000.
This involves moving the decimal place three places to the left.
Let’s add some zeros on the left to make sure we have somewhere to move the decimal point to.
The first and last zeros are not needed as the decimal point ends up after the second zero.
So 300 ml = 300 ÷ 1000 = 0.3 L
Example 4
A patient is ordered 1.2g of a medicine. The medication is available in 400mg tablets. How many tablets will you
administer?
Solution
Notice that in this example, the units for the required dose are different to that of the stock dose.
If we convert the required dose from grams to milligrams, then 1.2g = 1200 mg
The number of tablets required is

Definition of Drugs

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Definition of Drugs

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Definition of Drugs

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Definition : Any substance (other than food) that is used to prevent, diagnose, treat, or relieve symptoms of a disease or abnormal

purposes : It is used for diagnosis

Routes of drug administration :

Intradermal: into the dermis

Intravenous: into the vein

Intraarterial: into the artery

Intracardiac: into the cardiac muscles

Intrathecal: into the spinal cavity

Intraosseous: into the bone marrow

Intraperitoneal: into the peritoneal cavity

Rights of drug administration

 Check the name on the order and the patient

 Check the order

 Again, check the order and appropriateness of the route ordered

 Check the frequency of the ordered medication

 Document administration after giving the ordered medication

Weight and measurement

Units of Measurement for Drug Calculations

Quantity Units Symbol Relationship

Mass (weight) kilogram Kg

microgram mcg or μg 1 mg = 1,000 μg

cubic centimetre cc 1 ml = 1cc

Amount mole mol

millimole mmol 1 mol = 1,000 mmol

How to Convert between Units

You might also like