Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In pharmacokinetics, a loading dose is an initial higher dose of a drug that may be given at the beginning of a course of treatment before dropping down to a lower maintenance dose. [1] A loading dose is most useful for drugs that are eliminated from the body relatively slowly, i.e. have a long systemic half-life.
Pharmacotherapy. Pharmacotherapy, also known as pharmacological therapy or drug therapy, is defined as medical treatment that utilizes one or more pharmaceutical drugs to improve ongoing symptoms (symptomatic relief), treat the underlying condition, or act as a prevention for other diseases (prophylaxis). [1]
Labetalol is a beta blocker, or an antagonist of the β-adrenergic receptors. It is specifically a non-selective antagonist of the β 1 - and β 2 -adrenergic receptors. [17] Labetalol has intrinsic sympathomimetic activity. [17] It is also an antagonist of the α 1 -adrenergic receptor, and hence is additionally an alpha blocker.
Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is a branch of clinical chemistry and clinical pharmacology that specializes in the measurement of medication levels in blood. Its main focus is on drugs with a narrow therapeutic range, i.e. drugs that can easily be under- or overdosed. [1] TDM aimed at improving patient care by individually adjusting the dose ...
Indication (medicine) In medicine, an indication is a valid reason to use a certain test, medication, procedure, or surgery. [1] There can be multiple indications to use a procedure or medication. [2] An indication can commonly be confused with the term diagnosis.
Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, [1] including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function. [ 2 ]
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. ... [It] means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research." [1] The aim of EBM is to integrate the ...
Antiarrhythmic agents, also known as cardiac dysrhythmia medications, are a class of drugs that are used to suppress abnormally fast rhythms (tachycardias), such as atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia and ventricular tachycardia. Many attempts have been made to classify antiarrhythmic agents.