Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Lecture Notes provides a clear and accessible overview of all the key prescribing topics needed for medical finals and beyond. Detailed coverage and discussion of pharmacology in a clinical context, combined with an easy–to–understand, readable style, helps improve and test understanding of pharmacological principles and reasoning on rotation and into the foundation years.

Key features for this edition include:
 Clinical scenarios to root each chapter firmly in a real–life setting
 Prescribing points flagging up important issues of clinical relevance
 Expanded sections on drugs you may need in a hurry, prescribing and its pitfalls, and paediatric prescribing
 A self–assessment section to test your knowledge and help prepare for examinations 

Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Lecture Notes is an ideal resource for all medical students, junior doctors, and other prescribers, whether learning how pharmacological principles relate to clinical situations, brushing up on the basics while on rotation, or looking for a comprehensive overview of prescribing and therapeutics.

Contributors, vi

Preface, vii

Foreword, ix

Part 1 Principles of clinical pharmacology

1 Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, 3

2 Clinical trials and drug development, 11

Part 2 Aspects of therapeutics

3 Drugs and gastrointestinal disease, 19

4 Management of coronary artery disease and its complications, 29

5 Primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, 52

6 Drugs used to treat respiratory disease, 71

7 Drugs used to treat neurological disease, 81

8 Treatment of psychiatric disorders, 97

9 Antimicrobial therapy, 111

10 HIV and antiretroviral treatment, 132

11 Travel medicine and tropical disease, 143

12 Drugs and endocrine disease, 153

13 Drugs and the reproductive system, 169

14 Drugs and the urological system, 178

15 Cancer therapeutics, 185

16 Drugs and infl ammatory joint disease, 197

17 Immunopharmacology, 204

18 Drugs and the blood including anticoagulants and thrombolytic drugs, 215

19 Drugs used for pain relief and anaesthesia, 228

Part 3 Practical aspects of prescribing

20 Clinical pharmacokinetics: dosage individualisation, 241

21 Influence of renal and hepatic disease on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, 247

22 Prescribing for the young and the elderly, 252

23 Drugs in pregnant and breastfeeding women, 255

24 Pharmacoeconomics: the economic evaluation of new drugs, 262

25 Poisoning and drug overdose, 269

26 Drugs you may need in a hurry, 283

27 Prescribing and its pitfalls, 287

Self assessment questions, 294

Self assessment answers, 299

Index, 302

Gerard A. McKay is Consultant Physician and Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and University of Glasgow

Matthew R. Walters is Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Director, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow

This is an excellent resource for doctors in training who must master the principles of clinical pharmacology in order to prescribe therapeutic agents safely in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases.   (Doody s, 28 June 2013)