Drug Strength Percentage Calculator

Drug Strength Percentage Calculator

	WAIT!!! DON'T CLICK AWAY! See Top Medical Assistant Schools and Programs Now! Click "See Schools Now" button below Select your state---See schools and programs offered It's that simple! Powered by Edu-Search Net

Drug Strength Percentage Calculator...

Drug Strength Percentage Calculator

Calculators to find the percent strength of a drug

(i.e., what % strength is 14 grams in 40 ml of solution.)

Manuel's Web.com is a free site developed by a nurse, that has some great calculators to get you on the right track: The site also includes calculators for finding the active ingredient and drug proportions and much more. This is an excellent resource for all in a health care delivering field!

Go To: Drug Strength Calculator

Need to refresh your math skills?

Go To: Math Tables and Exercises

General Principles

What is pharmacology

Study of drugs

study how drugs are used to cure, treat or prevent disease in humans and animals - pharmacotherapeutics

study how drugs are used to alleviate pain and suffering - pharmacotherapeutics

study of the non-medical use of drugs - drug abuse

study how poisons and environmental toxicants affect humans and animals- toxicology

Another ways to study drugs is to examine what a drug does to the body (Pharmacodynamics) and what the body does to the drug (Pharmacokinetics).

pharmacodynamics

describes the effect of a drugs on the subject to which it is given

biochemical effects

physiological effects

behavioral effects

describes the mechanism(s) of action for the drug

pharmacokinetics

pharmacokinetics describes in qualitative and quantitative terms what happens to an administered drug with the passage of time

drug disposition

absorption

distribution

metabolism

excretion)

experimentally one can measure the concentration of a drug at various times after administration

in general, the intensity of a drug effect is related to its concentration

allows one to make intelligent decisions regarding dose and frequency of drug administration

Drug nomenclature

Chemical name - identifies chemical structure

Generic (official) name - assigned by the U.S. Adopted Name Council

Trade (proprietary) name

assigned by company that developed the drug

during the time company owns patent rights to drug it may license the drug's manufacture and sale by other companies under different trade names

trade names are usually short and catchy and easy to remember but...

multiple trade names may exist for a single drug

trade names for different drugs may sound and/or be spelled so similar that medication errors may occur

a drug can always be recognized by its generic name, regardless of its trade name, since this must appear on the label

Sources of Drug Information

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and National Formulary (NF)

describes well-accepted therapeutic agents as to

source

chemistry

physical properties

tests for identity

standards of purity

storage characteristics

therapeutic dose range in humans

general medical uses

legally enforceable standards of drug identity, purity and activity

authoritative and unbiased (but overwhelming, overkill and expensive)

3-volume abbreviated version available - USP DI (Dispensing Information)

Drug Information for the Health Care Professional

Advice for the Patient

Approved Drug Products and Legal Requirements

Physician's Desk Reference (PDR)

only contains information supplied by the pharmaceutical companies

no comparisons among drugs

only lists FDA-approved indications

Drug Facts and Comparisons

Textbooks

Journals

Continuing medical education programs

Drug company representatives

Colleague recommendations

Advertisements

Legal regulation of drugs

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Purpose

to approve or reject applications from drug companies to market new drugs

old drugs which fail to meet purity, safety or efficiacy standards may be removed from market

History

1906

Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act

set up federal agency to define purity and quality of drugs (not safety or efficacy)

1938

required accurate labeling of medicinals

assured identity and safety of all ingredients (active and inactive)

1951

allowed FDA to determine which drugs may be dispensed by prescription only and which may be sold "over-the-counter" (OTC)

set the number of refills for prescription drugs

1958

Delaney Ammendment

no drug or food additive may contain any substance which has been shown to be carcinogenic in man or animal (zero tolerance)

1962

manufacturer must demonstrate efficacy as well safety of new drugs

review of drugs introduced between 1938 and 1962

set guidelines for animal and human testing

1972

review of efficacy and safety of OTC drugs

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

purpose of DEA is to establish a balance between legitimate medical needs for a drug while minimizing the availability of the drug for abuse.

regulates drugs acting on the central nervous system that have abuse potential

first set up by Congress in 1914 - subsequent amendments - Harrison Narcotic Act - regulation of opium derivatives, cocaine and marijuana

1970 - Comprehensive Drug Abuse, Prevention and Control Act (Controlled Substances Act) - regulates the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, use and possession of all CNS drugs with abuse potential with the exceptions of alcohol and tobacco (regulated by the ATF, which is part of the Trea$ury Department)

enforced by the DEA of the U.S. Department of Justice

all controlled substances are placed in one of five "schedules " (see table below) depending on their abuse potential and their clinical usefulness

individual states may establish controls that are stricter than those of the DEA (but NOT less stringent) for particular drugs

any preparation containing a controlled substance must be so labeled

a DEA licence is needed to manufacture, prescribe or dispense a controlled substance

all licensees must keep these drugs under lock and key and must keep accurate records and inventories

Units of Measure/Conversions

Length

One inch = 2.54 centimeters

One yard = 0.9144 meters

Volume (fluid)

One teaspoon = 0.16 ounces (or 5 ml)

One tablespoon = 0.5 ounces (or 15 ml or 3 teaspoons)

Four tablespoons = 1/4 cup

One ounce = 30 ml

One cup = 8 ounces (or 240 ml or 16 tbs or 48 tsp)

One pint = 16 ounces

One quart = 32 ounces (or 0.95 liters or 4 cups)

One gallon = 128 ounces (or 3.8 liters or 4 quarts)

One milliliter = 0.0338 ounces

Weight

One gram = 0.035 ounces

One pound = 454 grams

One kilogram (kg) = 2.205 pounds (or 35 ounces)

One grain = 64.799 mg

One microgram (ug) = 0.000001 grams

One ounce = 28 grams