Tachyphylaxis is a very rapid development of

Question

a. tolerance.
b. adaptation.
c. mutation.
d. adjustment.

Answer 1

a. Tachyphylaxis, a very rapid development of tolerance, is defined as a rapid decreasing response (within hours/days) with repeated administration of the same dose of drug at short intervals. In dental practice, tachyphylaxis to local anesthetics may develop. For example, a local anesthetic is administered to a dental patient. Once the nerve function returns to its preinjection state and the patient requires more anesthetic because of pain, the duration and intensity of anesthesia with reinjection is greatly diminished. Thus, successive doses of the anesthetic will be less effective than those given previously.