INTRODUCTION: DEFINITIONS AND Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs: OTC or

SOURCES OF DRUGS non-prescription drugs are those that can be

sold to a patient without the need for a doctor's
Pharmacology: It is the science that deals
prescription. e.g.paracetamol, antacids, etc.
with effects of drugs on living system.
Prescription drugs: These are drugs that can
Drug: WHO defines drug as 'any substance or
be obtained only upon producing a
product that is used or intended to be used to
prescription from a registered medical
modify or explore physiological systems or
practitioner, e g. ant1bioties, antipsychotics,
pathological states for the benefit of the
etc.
recipient".
Pharmacoeconomics: deals with the cost,
Pharmacokinetics: It means the movement of
the drug within the body: it includes the economic aspect of the drug used
processes of absorption (A), distribution (D). therapeutically.
metabolism (M) and excretion (E). It means
'what the body does to the drug'. Pharmacogenomics:is the branch deal with
the use of genetic information to guide the
Pharmacodynamics: It is the study of drugs-
their mechanism of action, pharmacological choice of drug in persons.
actions and their adverse effects. It covers all Pharmacoepidemiology: is the study of both
the aspects relating to 'what the drug does to
the body. useful and adverse effect of drug on large
number of people.
Pharmacy: It is the branch of science that
deals with the preparation. preservation. Pharmacovigilance: branch of
standardization, compounding. dispensing and pharmacoepidemiology deals with the
proper utilization of drugs.
epidemiologic study of adverse drug effects.
Therapeutics: It is the aspect of medicine
Adverse drug reaction: is any response to a
concerned with the treatment of diseases.
drug that is noxious and unintended and
Chemotherapy: It deals with the treatment of
infectious diseases/cancers with chemical occurs at doses used in man for prophylaxis,
compounds that cause relatively selective diagnosis or therapy.
damage to the infecting organism/cancer cells.
Teratogenicity: is the ability of a drug to
Toxicology: It is the study of poisons, their cause fetal abnormalities when administered to
actions, detection. prevention and the
treatment of poisoning. a pregnant woman.

Essential medicines: According to WHO, Chemotherapy: is the use of drugs and

essential medicines are "those that satisfy the chemicals for the treatment of infections.
health care needs of majority of the
Chronopharmacology:involves the
population: they should be available at all
times in adequate amounts and in appropriate correlation of drug effect to circadian rhythm
dosage forms Examples arc iron and folic acid to obtain optimum therapeutic effects and
for anaemia in pregnancy, antitubercular drugs
minimize the adverse effects.
like isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide,
ethambutol, etc.
Drug interaction: alteration in the duration or
magnitude of the pharmacological effects of
one drug by another drug.
SOURCES OF DRUG INFORMATION
Pharmacopoeia is a book containing
names of officially approved drugs
with their physical and chemical
characteristics.
It also includes tests for their
identification, potency, purity and
method of storage. Some of the
pharmacopoeias are the Indian
Pharmacopoeia (IP), the British
Pharmacopoeia (BP), the European
Pharmacopoeia and the United States
Pharmacopoeia (USP).
Other sources of drug information are
National Formulary (NF), Martindale-
the Extra Pharmacopoeia, Physicians'
Desk Reference (PDR), American
Medical Association Drug Evaluation,
textbooks, journals of pharmacology
and therapeutics, drug bulletins,
databases like Micromedex, Medline,
Cochrane Library, etc.
Formulary provides information about
available drugs-their use, dosage,
adverse effects, contraindications,
precautions, warnings and guidance on
selecting right drug for a range of
conditions.
DRUG NOMENCLATURE
Drugs usually have three types of names. They
are as follows:
Chemical name Non-
proprietary name Proprietary / brand
name Acetylsalicylic acid
Aspirin
Disprin, Ecosprin N-acetyl-p-
aminophenol Paracetanmol
Crocin, Metacin, Tylenol
1. Chemical name: It describes the chemical
structure of a drug. It is not suitable for use in
a prescription, e.g. acetylsalicylic acid.
2. Non-proprietary name: It is assigned by a
scientific body/competent authority, e.g.
United States Adopted Name (USAN) council.
It is commonly used as generic name, which is
uniform all over the world, e.g. aspirin.
Generic names should be used in
prescriptions.
3. Proprietary name (brand name): It is
given by the drug manufacturers. Brand names
are short and easy to recall. A drug usually has
many brand names-it may have different
names within a country and in different
countries, e.g. disprin. Brand names are also
used in prescriptions.
SOURCES OF DRUGS
They are natural, semisynthetic and
synthetic.
1. Natural sources are plants, animals,
minerals, micro-organisms, etc.
2. Semisynthetic drugs are obtained from
natural sources and are modified
chemically later.
3. Synthetic drugs are produced
artificially.
The different sources of drugs are listed
below:
a. Plants:
Alkaloids, e.g. morphine, atropine,
quinine, ephedrine
Glycosides, e.g. digoxin, digitoxin
b. Animals: Insulin, heparin
c. Minerals: Ferrous sulphate, magnesium
sulphate
d. Microorganisms: Penicillin G,
streptomycin, griseofulvin
e. Semisynthetic: Hydromorphone,
hydrocodone
f. Synthetic: Most of the drugs used today are
synthetic, e.g. aspirin, paracetamol, f.
cotrimoxazole, etc.
Drugs are also produced by genetic
engineering (DNA recombinant technology),
e.g. human insulin, human growth hormone,
hepatitis B vaccine.
QUESTIONS
1. Mention various sources of drugs with an
example for each.
2. Write briefly on drug nomenclature.
RATIONAL USE OF MEDICINES
Rational use of medicines requires that
patients receive medications appropriate to
their clinical needs, in doses that meet their
own individual requirements for an adequate
period of time, and at the lowest cost to them
and their community" (WHO 1985).
PRINCIPLES OF DRUG
ADMINISTRATION
Nurses administer drugs prescribed by
the doctor.
To ensure safe administration of drugs
to the patient, the nurse should have
proper knowledge about the prescribed
drug.
The 'rights' of drug administration
include right patient, drug, dose, route,
time, duration and documentation.
Right patient: The correct patient should be
identified by name, hospital number, age, etc.
before administering the drug.
Right drug: Confirm the correct drug by
reading the label carefully and always check
the instructions mentioned on the label
including expiry date of the drug.
Right dose: Administer the correct dose as
prescribed.
Right route: Carefully check the route
mentioned in the prescription and product
label before administration.
Right time and duration: Administer the
drug strictly at the right time and at correct
intervals according to the prescription order.
The drug should be administered for the
duration specified in the prescription.
Right documentation: The nurse should
document the details of drug administration. If
a patient refuses medication, it should also be
documented with the reason for
refusal/specified reason. Any adverse events,
which occur following administration of the
drug should also be recorded.
DRUG STORAGE
Proper storage of drugs is necessary to
maintain their quality, e.g. insulin vials,
suppositories, low-molecular-weight heparin,
streptokinase, etc. require refrigeration. The
drugs should be stored according to the
instructions mentioned on the label.
LEGAL ISSUES
Some of the Acts and Rules that govern the
manufacture, sale, import, export and clinical
research of drugs and cosmetics in India are as
follows:
The Opium Act, 1878 - To
regulate cultivation and sale of opium.
The Poisons Act, 1919 - To
regulate the import, possession and sale of
poisons.
The Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930 - To
regulate the transport, import and export of
dangerous drugs.
The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 - To
regulate the manufacture, sale and distribution
of allopathic drugs. Later, it was amended to
include ayurvedic, siddha, unani, homeopathic
drugs and cosmetics.
The Drugs and Magic Remedies, 1954 - To Drugs for diseases like AIDS, cancer, angina
regulate the drug advertisements Act. pectoris and genetic disorders should not claim
to cure them.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances Act, 1985 - To control and regulate Schedule 0
the production, sale and use of narcotics and
Standards for disinfectant fluids.
psychotropics.
Schedule X
The Medicinal and Toilet Preparations Act,
1955 - To prevent the misuse of alcohol and Drugs are to be sold by retail on the
narcotic-containing preparations prescription of registered medical practitioners
only, e.g. drugs having addiction liability like
The Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995 - To
morphine, cocaine. barbiturates and
control the prices of drugs and overall
amphetamine. Drugs like oseltamivir and
profitability
zanamivir have been included in this schedule
IMPORTANT DRUG SCHEDULES as per Drugs and Cosmetic (Amendment) Act,
2008.
There are some drug schedules to govern the
manufacture, sale and use of certain drugs. ScheduleY
Schedule C, C(1)
Guidelines for import and/or manufacture of
The manufacture, sale and import of biological new drugs for sale or clinical trials.
and special products, e.g. vaccines, sera,
toxins, adrenaline, insulin, vitamins, ergot and
their derivatives.
Schedule F, F(1)
Production, testing, storage and packing of
biological and special products Drugs which
are to be used only under medical supervision,
e.g. anticancer drugs, antiepileptics,
antidiabetics, etc.
Schedule G
Drugs which are to be sold only on
prescription of registered medical
practitioners, e.g. albendazole, atenolol,
pentazocine and cefazolin, etc.
Schedule H
It is dangerous to take this preparation except
in accordance with the medical advice 'Not to
be sold by retail without the prescription of a
Registered Medical Practitioner.
Schedule J