Pathophysiology-Drug Actions - Essay Example

"Pathophysiology-Drug Actions" is a brilliant example of a paper on the addiction.

‘Pathophysiology’ refers to destabilized body functions due to the effects of diseases that are reversed by the application of drugs for cure or suppression. This paper seeks to report on the application of drugs.

Common anesthetic drugs

Anesthetic drugs are administered medications to a patient to induce unconsciousness as a prerequisite to surgery. Some of the most commonly used anesthetic drugs include “benzodiazepines, ‘opioids’, induction agents, neuromuscular blockers, and sympathomimetics” (Ehrenfeld, Urman, and Segal, 2010, p. 40).

Commonly used anesthetic drugs in abdominal surgery and reason for the application

One of the most commonly used anesthesias for abdominal surgery is benzodiazepines. They are used before surgery and mainly because they do not send a patient to complete unconsciousness and allows for interaction with the patient. Another commonly used drug is hypotonic anesthesia, applied because of its ability to relax patients’ muscles and body during surgery (Kremer and Platzer, 2001).

Most commonly used anticonvulsants or tranquilizers for treating epilepsy

Benzodiazepines are the most commonly used anticonvulsants or tranquilizers for treating epilepsy because they exist in readily available forms (Kremer and Platzer, 2001).

Mode of action of the drugs

The drugs have a mechanical mode of action in which they inactivate “sodium channels” that transfers ions across membranes (Ehrenfeld, Urman and Segal, 2010, p. 69). This consequently inactivates the nervous system and results in a patient’s inactive state, even to unconsciousness (Ehrenfeld, Urman and Segal, 2010).

Advantages and disadvantages of using narcotic and ‘non-narcotic’ drugs for treating chronic and severe pain

Narcotic drugs for the treatment of severe pain include morphine and ‘meperidine’. These drugs have the advantage of “potent analgesia” though morphine has an additional advantage of inducing faster effects in a patient. The narcotic drugs are equally identified with disadvantages that include “respiratory depression, hypotension, and seizure” (Fleisher, Ludwig, and Silverman, 2002, p. 35). ‘Non-narcotic’ drugs such as ‘ketorolac tromethamine’ have the advantage of a long period of effectiveness in a patient’s body. The drugs however report limited side effects as disadvantages (Fleisher, Ludwig, and Silverman, 2002). 

Advantages and disadvantages of oral, intravenous, and intramuscular administration of drugs

Some of the advantages of intravenous administration of drugs are its associated ease of application, its immediate effectiveness, and the limited time for interaction with a patient. While oral administration is less painful, the intramuscular model has the advantage of administering drugs that cannot be applied through oral and intravenous methods. Each of the methods also has its disadvantages. Intravenous administration through injection is painful to the patient while oral and intramuscular methods may delay the effectiveness process and lead to negative reactions from a patient (Fleisher, Ludwig, and Silverman, 2002; Ehrenfeld, Urman and Segal, 2010).   

Iatrogenic and ‘teratogenic’ effects of drugs

Iatrogenic impacts of drugs refer to harms suffered by a patient due to the inappropriate administration of drugs (Liley et al., 2005). Teratogenic effects are however caused by a reaction of particular drugs and may include impaired organogenesis processes, impaired “tissue development, growth retardation, and fetal death or stillbirth” (Aschenbrenner and Venable, 2008).