What is the significance of a drug's therapeutic range to a veterinary technician?
What will be an ideal response?
The therapeutic range of a drug is the drug concentration in the body that produces the desired effect in the animal with minimal or no signs of toxicity. Veterinary technicians must understand the concept of the therapeutic range so that they can explain to clients why drugs are prescribed at a certain dosage and not increased significantly from that reported dosage so that drug toxicity does not occur in the animal. They can also explain that giving a drug more frequently than prescribed may cause the drug levels in the blood to get into the toxic range, causing a variety of adverse reactions. Many clients want to give their animals more drug so that they can be "cured" faster. You can now explain why this concept is invalid.
Understanding the concept of the therapeutic range also helps veterinary technicians explain to clients with older animals that a drug may not be excreted from the animal's body as efficiently as it should. This may affect the dose and frequency with which drugs are administered in older animals.
You might also like to view...
Which of the following is not a function of the subcutaneous layer of skin?
a. Produces melanin to protect skin from the ultraviolet rays of the sun b. Stores fat that can be used for food c. Protects the underlying tissue by acting as a “shock absorber” d. Helps the body in temperature regulation
Two openings that allow waste to exit the body other than through the anus are an ileostomy and a/an ______________
Fill in the blank(s) with correct word
Identify the two rounded projections on either side of the elbow, and state to which bone they belong
A) humerus; lateral malleolus and medial malleolus B) humerus; lateral and medial epicondyles C) ulna; lateral malleolus and medial malleolus D) ulna; lateral and medial epicondyles E) radius; lateral malleolus and medial malleolus
Cells in the cleft between the afferent and efferent arterioles and among capillaries of the glomerulus are known as mesangial cells.
Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)