Pharmacology Web Search 2005

(Do not use this page to treat or prevent disease.  It will not be updated as drug information changes.  It is intended only to illustrate the use of web search activities to promote information competence in college students.)

 

  1. What is the generic name of the 2nd most commonly prescribed medication in the United States in 2004?  (You can find this information on the “Top 300 list” at www.rxlist.com) (Correct spelling is required.)

 

Answer: atorvastatin

Feedback: There were 69, 766,431 prescriptions written for atorvastatin (LIPITOR) during 2004.  It generated more income than any other medication prescribed.  Only hydrocodone with acetaminophen was prescribed more often.

 

  1. Go to the International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements Database (link off www.hhs.csus.edu/pharm).  Click on DIETARY SUPPLEMENT FACT SHEETS, and select calcium.  Fill in the blank exactly as typed in the manuscript.  (Use your “find on this page” feature under your edit menu to make this search fast.)  “Vitamin D helps improve calcium _______.  Your body can obtain vitamin D from food and it can also make vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight.  Thus, adequate vitamin D intake from food and sun exposure is essential to bone health.”

 

Answer: absorption

Feedback:  Many calcium products also contain vitamin D to help absorption.

 

  1. From the pharm reference page (www.hhs.csus.edu/pharm), click on the National Institue of Drug Abuse (http://www.nida.nih.gov) and select the NIDA web site Smoking.drugabuse.gov.  Select “info fact sheet” for Cigarettes and Other Nicotine Products.  Fill in the blank, exactly as typed in the report.  “Another tool in treating nicotine addiction is a medication that goes by the _____ _____ _____.  This is not a nicotine replacement, as are the gum and patch.  Rather, this works on other areas of the brain, and its effectiveness is in helping to make controllable nicotine craving or thoughts about cigarette use in people trying to quit.”

 

Answer: trade name Zyban

Feedback:  Zyban may be useful in helping someone to quit smoking.

 

  1. On www.rxlist.com, click on the online pharmacy and check drug interactions for Bactrim and Coumadin.  When taken together these drugs:
    1. Increase risk of bleeding.
    2. Decrease effectiveness of Bactrim.
    3. May cause blood clotting.
    4. Often cause kidney failure.

 

Answer: a

Feedback:  Many drugs interact with the anticoagulant Coumadin.

 

  1. According to the CDC’s childhood immunization schedule (link off www.hhs.csus.edu/pharm), a child can first receive the varicella vaccine when they are ________months old.  (ONLY TYPE IN THE NUMERIC NUMBER.)

 

Answer: 12