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Drug Formulations

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Understanding Pharmacology in Nursing Practice

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Abstract

Drug formulation can be defined as the process in which different chemical substances, including the active drug, are combined to produce a final medicinal product. Drug substances are seldom administered alone but rather they are given as part of a formulation in combination with one or more agents that serve varied and specialised pharmaceutical functions. These non-medicinal agents (pharmaceutical ingredients or excipients) are used to fashion medications into acceptable dosage forms. This chapter discusses the various topics related to drug formulation including excipients and their adverse effects. An understanding of these concepts provides the practitioner with an appreciation of why different formulations of medication are needed, as well as an insight into the consequences of altering the formulation for a recipient.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life Science and Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK

    Ali A. Dahab

Authors
  1. Ali A. Dahab
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ali A. Dahab .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. (Retired) Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care, King’s College London, London, UK

    Pauline Hood

  2. Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care, King’s College London, London, UK

    Ehsan Khan

Appendices

Multiple Choice Questions

  1. 1.

    When discussing drug formulation, drug stability relates to:

    1. (a)

      Stability of the patient who is taking the medication

    2. (b)

      The time it takes to achieve a stable blood serum concentration in a particular patient

    3. (c)

      The stability of the medication against degradation

    4. (d)

      The stability of a drug against drug interactions

  2. 2.

    Commonly, shelf life is defined as:

    1. (a)

      The time for the original potency of the active drug to be reduced to 95%

    2. (b)

      The time for the original potency of the active drug to be reduced to 90%

    3. (c)

      The time for the original potency of the active drug to be reduced to 80%

    4. (d)

      The time for the original potency of the active drug to be reduced to 70%

  3. 3.

    Disintegrants and binders are examples of:

    1. (a)

      Excipients

    2. (b)

      Formulations

    3. (c)

      Chelators

    4. (d)

      Drug interaction

  4. 4.

    Which population group is generally more likely to experience an excipient-related adverse reaction:

    1. (a)

      Older people, as kidney function deteriorates with age

    2. (b)

      Preterm babies, because the quantity of excipients may be high relative to body weight

    3. (c)

      Preterm babies, because the quantity of excipients may influence physiological processes such as surfactant production

    4. (d)

      Older people, because of their higher fat to body water ratio.

  5. 5.

    Capsules should be kept away from:

    1. (a)

      Extremes of humidity and dryness

    2. (b)

      Extreme humidity

    3. (c)

      Extreme dryness

    4. (d)

      Extremes of fluctuating temperature

  6. 6.

    Fifty percent of all medications available on the market are in the form of:

    1. (a)

      Tablets

    2. (b)

      Liquids

    3. (c)

      Ointments

    4. (d)

      Inhalers

    5. (e)

      Intravenous preparations

  7. 7.

    Film coating on tablets is needed to:

    1. (a)

      Keep moisture out

    2. (b)

      Make tablets easier to swallow

    3. (c)

      Ensure they cannot be split

    4. (d)

      Ensure they can pass through the stomach without degradation

  8. 8.

    Which form of tablet may contain a large quantity of sodium that may prohibit their use in patients who are sodium restricted?

    1. (a)

      Enteric coated

    2. (b)

      Multi-compacted

    3. (c)

      Effervescent

    4. (d)

      Chewable tablets

  9. 9.

    A substance that is usually homogeneous, clear, semi-solid preparations consisting of a liquid phase within a three-dimensional polymeric matrix with physical or sometimes chemical cross-linkage is:

    1. (a)

      An ointment

    2. (b)

      A cream

    3. (c)

      A gel

    4. (d)

      A paste

  10. 10.

    Solutions are:

    1. (a)

      Evenly distributed, homogeneous mixtures of dissolved medication (solid, liquid or gaseous) in a suitable liquid vehicle

    2. (b)

      Clear, sweet, flavoured hydroalcoholic mixtures intended for oral ingestion

    3. (c)

      Concentrated, viscous aqueous solutions containing one or more sugar components, mainly sucrose

    4. (d)

      Viscous, liquid oral preparations that are usually prescribed mainly for a demulcent (soothing), expectorant or sedative purpose

Answers

1. c

2. b

3. a

4. b

5. a

6. a

7. b

8. c

9. c

10. a

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Dahab, A.A. (2020). Drug Formulations. In: Hood, P., Khan, E. (eds) Understanding Pharmacology in Nursing Practice . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32004-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32004-1_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-32003-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-32004-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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