Pharmacology in Emergency Medical Services

Study Notes

Before administering medications to pregnant patients, consider the potential risks to the fetus as changes in the pregnant woman's body can affect how drugs are processed.
FDA replaced the pregnancy drug category system with a more detailed narrative summary system for prescribing information related to pregnancy and lactation risks.
Delay in pharmacological treatments for pregnant patients should be considered unless in life-threatening situations; contact medical control for guidance if unsure.
Young infants have reduced metabolic capacity due to incomplete GI tract development, affecting absorption and elimination of oral medications.
Geriatric patients experience similar changes in pharmacokinetics as young children, with slowed hepatic function and GI activity.
Advanced EMTs are legally, morally, and ethically responsible for each drug they administer, ensuring safe and effective drug administration following national guidelines.
Drugs can be classified based on their effects on specific body parts or conditions, falling into categories like body agent, class of agent, and mechanism of action.
Nervous system classifications include the CNS, peripheral nervous system, and autonomic nervous system (ANS) divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.
Medications affecting the nervous system include sympathomimetics (mimic sympathetic effects), sympatholytics (inhibit sympathetic effects), parasympathomimetics (mimic parasympathetic effects), and parasympatholytics (block parasympathetic effects).
Analgesics relieve pain, with opioid agonists binding to opiate receptors in the CNS to prevent pain signals; non-opioid agonists may have additional properties like reducing fever.
Sedative drugs induce sedation and hypnosis, including benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and opioids.
Anti-convulsants inhibit sodium influx into cells to treat seizures; stimulants like caffeine and amphetamines excite the central nervous system.
Depressants slow brain activity, treating conditions like anxiety and insomnia; psychotherapeutic drugs block dopamine receptors in the brain to treat illnesses like schizophrenia and depression.
Cardiovascular system drugs are classified based on effects like chronotropic (heart rate), inotropic (force of contraction), and dromotropic (conduction velocity).
Anti-arrhythmic medications affect cardiac tissue through sodium channel blockers, beta blockers, potassium channel blockers, and calcium channel blockers.
Anti-hypertensive medications lower blood pressure through diuretics, vasodilators, sympathetic blocking agents, ACE inhibitors, and calcium channel blockers.
Antiplatelet agents interfere with platelet aggregation, while anticoagulant drugs prevent blood clot formation; fibrinolytic agents dissolve thrombi.
Oxygen is commonly used in the prehospital setting but has appropriate and inappropriate uses with potential side effects; antihistamines are used during allergy season but can be overdosed.
Drugs affecting the pancreas include hypoglycemic medications that act directly on the pancreas or alter insulin utilization in the body.
Immunosuppressant medications inhibit the body's immune response, prescribed for organ transplant patients or those with autoimmune diseases to prevent attacks on foreign organs or self.

Description

Test your knowledge of pharmacological considerations in emergency medical services, including drug administration to pregnant patients, pediatric and geriatric patients, nervous system classifications, cardiovascular drugs, and medications affecting the pancreas and immune system.