Pharmacology & Therapeutics
7 condition pages in this specialty.
Free sample chapters
Readable in full, in both editions, no subscription needed.
Anticoagulation (warfarin and DOACs)
FreeChoose anticoagulation by indication, thrombotic risk, bleeding risk, renal function and patient preference; warfarin and direct oral anticoagulants have different monitoring, interactions and reversal pathways.
Paracetamol overdose
FreeParacetamol overdose saturates conjugation and depletes hepatic glutathione, letting the reactive metabolite N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) kill hepatocytes over 24 to 72 hours while the patient still feels well.
Digoxin Toxicity
Full accessDigoxin inhibits the myocardial sodium-potassium pump, so in excess it both blocks conduction and provokes ectopic firing, giving bradycardia, heart block and ventricular arrhythmia.
Lithium toxicity
Full accessLithium is cleared by the kidney alongside sodium, so volume depletion, renal impairment or a drug that blocks its elimination turns an unchanged dose into rising concentrations and neurotoxicity.
Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome
Full accessCentral dopamine blockade, or abrupt loss of dopaminergic therapy, disables thermoregulation and motor control together, so rigid muscle generates heat faster than the body can shed it.
Opioid Overdose
Full accessExcess mu-opioid activation blunts the brainstem response to carbon dioxide, so ventilation fails first; naloxone displaces the opioid, but for less time than the opioid lasts.
Serotonin syndrome
Full accessExcess central serotonergic activity produces neuromuscular excitation, autonomic instability and altered mental state within hours, and the muscle activity itself generates the hyperthermia that kills.