Question

1.     What is the role of the allied health professional in polypharmacy ?

2.     How do variations in weight and the gradual decline in body functions affect dosages for the older adult?

3.     Why is medication therapy potentially harmful in the first trimester of pregnancy?

Answer 1

1. Polypharmacy: when there is a large use of different or multiple drugs at a time by intentionally or unintentionally leads some patients especially older ones are at high risk. Due to the indiscrimination use of multiples drugs.

Polypharmacy is a sizeable public health problem on a large scale.

It mainly affects older adults because they are prone to different other problems.

Polypharmacy is the concurrent use of more than two or more different medications that include all prescription, non-prescription, herbal and dietary supplements without knowing their side effects.

Polypharmacy is an inappropriate medication system that lacks some time evidence-based indications.

Polypharmacy provides treatment risks that outweigh benefits.

Leads to an adverse drug reaction.

Multiple drugs interaction leads to an adverse condition that has some side effects on the older patient.

ROLE OF ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONAL IN POLYPHARMACY

The role of allied health professionals continuously growing sector in which the Doctors and pharmacists regularly monitor all treatment that is given to the patient in a better way for beneficial results and minimizes the inappropriate treatment.

Allied health professionals in polypharmacy have professional education, should be skilled, trained, and expertise in the field of medications.

They provide the medicines on the evidence-based, which is important for a complex population that takes multiple medications.

Pharmacist-led polypharmacy is an emerging field where the new interventions have been developed for the effectiveness of:

a.To identifying medication-related problems.

b. To identify complementary and alternative medications having fewer side effects.

c. Reducing the number of unwanted medicines.

d. Help to identify drug-drug interactions.

e. De-prescribing 'inappropriate' medications.

f. To develop the best vaccine or improving their immune rates.

g. Minimize health care expenditure.

Future development in the area of polypharmacy focuses on new interventions, targeting effects on function status healthcare utilization, and improve the quality of life.

2. Variations in weight and the gradual decline in body functions affect dosages for the older adult:

The effect of medications on the body depends upon the drug doses and forms of medications provided.

The person who has low fat "Average" or obese will have to bear drug effects.

drug therapy is based on a certain concentration of a drug that provides desired therapeutic effects.

Adult doses based on:

a. An average age (Usually 18 to 65 years).

b. And bodyweight (Approximately 150 lb).

Therefore, the doses require very few adjustments for patients who do not fall within "normal" weight and age limits but in this case, the therapeutic effects may be adequate. Here, the dose adjustments may not be necessary.

Two conditions will be there according to weight: shown in the table given below:

Heavier Individual	Need higher doses
Lighter Individual (Little body fat)	Need lower doses

FOR Eg., Highly fat-soluble doses action on the central nervous system, such as FENTANYL, require extra dose at the initial stage for obese adults, but maintenance doses may be the same as for "normal" adults.

Doses-determined on the basis of body surface area (BSA), not only based on body size for highly toxic medications such as chemotherapeutic drugs.

It also considers the relationship of weight to the height of the patient's.

3. MEDICATION THERAPY POTENTIALLY HARMFUL IN THE FIRST TRIMESTER OF PREGNANCY:

The medications in the first trimester of pregnant women act as a TERATOGEN and cause TERATOGENICITY in the fetus.

A TERATOGEN is a harmful agent for pregnant women because it can disturb the development of the fetus or embryo that results in congenital abnormalities.

The TERATOGEN results in permanent structural or functional malformations even the death of the embryo or fetus.

TERATOGENS are in the form of :

Drugs

Maternal illness and infections

Metal toxicity (Mercury, potassium iodide, etc)

Physical agents, and even high-temperature hot tubs.

Thanks and God Bless You.