A

45-year-old man experiences episodic attacks of severe hypertension caused by

an adrenal medullary tumour that secretes copious amounts of epinephrine and

norepinephrine. Surgery is scheduled to remove the tumour.

Which

agent would be the most appropriate for the treatment of this patient prior to

surgery?

A 55-year-old man is

treated with digoxin for his heart failure. Elimination of digoxin is mostly

depended on renal excretion.

Which pharmacokinetic

process most likely underlies excretion of this drug?

A 29-year-old woman has separated with her partner

following a 6-year relationship. She has been feeling depressed and suicidal

and decided to swallow a large quantity of acetaminophen tablets. She was

brought to the Emergency Department 2 hours after ingestion of tablets by her

sister.

What is the goal of using N-acetylcysteine in the

treatment of this patient?

A 27-year-old man with no significant medical history undergoes elective hernia repair under general anaesthesia. Shortly after induction, he develops generalised muscle rigidity, a rapid rise in body temperature, tachycardia, and hypercapnia. Arterial blood gas analysis shows metabolic acidosis and elevated creatine kinase levels.

Which agent is most likely responsible for this complication?

A 20-year-old man has been in a

motorcycle accident and was admitted to the Emergency Department with a severe

head injury. Following stabilization of the patient, a strong analgesic was

administered to relieve pain immediately.

Which route of administration

should be avoided in this patient and why?

Drug

X was given at an initial dose of 8 mg/mL. Two hours after administration of

the drug, the drug plasma concentration was 4 mg/mL. 

Assuming

first-order kinetics apply, what will the drug’s concentration be at 6 hours?

A 5-year-old boy, left

unsupervised, ingested half a bottle of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) tablets.

His parents rushed him to the Emergency Department as he experienced

gastrointestinal pain and vomiting.

Taking into consideration the

principle of ion trapping, what would be the most appropriate treatment for

this patient and why?

A new anti-hypertensive drug is being evaluated by

a pharmaceutical company in a Phase I clinical trial in order to examine its

safety and side effects.

What does the sample of volunteers taking place in

the trial consist of ?

A

44-year-old man was admitted unconscious to the Emergency Department. Shortly

after admission, he had a tonic-clonic seizure. Further exams led to the

diagnosis of status epilepticus, and he was treated with a drug that increased

the activity of a central neurotransmitter able to generate only inhibitory

postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) by increasing Cl- or K+ conductance.

Which

neurotransmitter was most likely affected by the drug treatment?

A pharmaceutical company

conducted a research study in order to compare three different

anti-hypertensive drugs. The results are presented in terms of decrease in

blood pressure, as shown in the graph in Figure 1 below.

What best describes the relative

efficacy of drugs A, B and C?

Figure 1

. Dose-response curve of decrease in blood pressure

over log drug concentration.