Generic drug names are written in lowercase letters, while brand names are capitalized.
Correct Answer
True
True. A generic name such as ibuprofen is not capitalized, while a brand name created by the manufacturer begins with a capital letter. Recognizing the difference helps nurses match orders to products.
Category: Drug Names and Sources
Question 2
Each drug is sold under only one brand name worldwide.
Correct Answer
False
False. A single drug can carry several brand names from different manufacturers, and names may differ by country. In the United States each drug has one generic name, assigned by the U.S. Adopted Names Council, which is why the generic name is preferred for safety.
Category: Drug Names and Sources
Question 3
A prescription for a controlled substance must include the prescriber's DEA registration number.
Correct Answer
True
True. Any provider with prescriptive authority who prescribes controlled substances must be registered with the DEA, and that unique identifier must appear on each controlled substance prescription. It allows these prescriptions to be tracked.
Category: Controlled Substances
Question 4
Schedule V drugs have the highest potential for abuse of all controlled substances.
Correct Answer
False
False. Schedule V drugs, such as pregabalin and diphenoxylate with atropine, have the lowest abuse and dependence potential. Schedule I drugs have the highest abuse potential.
Category: Controlled Substances
Question 5
Heparin used as an anticoagulant is commonly obtained from pig intestinal tissue.
Correct Answer
True
True. Heparin, and the related drug enoxaparin, are commonly derived from porcine intestinal tissue, an example of an animal drug source. Clients may have cultural or religious concerns about porcine products, so nurses should know a drug's source.
Category: Drug Names and Sources
Question 6
Exenatide, used for type 2 diabetes, was developed from a compound found in rattlesnake venom.
Correct Answer
False
False. Exenatide was developed from a compound found in the saliva of the Gila monster, a venomous lizard. It is an example of a drug that originated from an animal source.
Category: Drug Names and Sources
Question 7
Vaccines, hormones and monoclonal antibodies are all examples of biologics.
Correct Answer
True
True. Biologics are products made from living sources using techniques such as genetic engineering, and they include vaccines, antitoxins, hormones and monoclonal antibodies. They often allow more targeted therapy but tend to be costly and are usually given by injection or infusion.
Category: Drug Names and Sources
Question 8
Herbal supplements must be approved by the FDA as effective before they can be sold.
Correct Answer
False
False. Herbal products and dietary supplements are not FDA approved for effectiveness before sale, and the evidence behind many of them is limited. Nurses should ask about supplements because some interact with prescribed drugs.
Category: Regulation and History
Question 9
A complementary therapy is used together with conventional medical treatment, while an alternative therapy is used in place of it.
Correct Answer
True
True. Complementary therapies such as acupuncture or ginger for nausea are added to conventional care, while alternative therapies replace it. Both should be included in a medication history.
Category: Regulation and History
Question 10
The FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research conducts the clinical trials for new drugs.
Correct Answer
False
False. The drug company runs the clinical trials, and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research reviews the data and proposed labeling. The central question in that review is whether the drug's benefits outweigh its risks.
Category: Drug Development
Question 11
In Phase II trials, a new drug is given to people who have the condition it is meant to treat.
Correct Answer
True
True. Phase II moves beyond healthy volunteers to clients with the target disease, who are monitored closely for therapeutic and adverse effects. Larger Phase III trials follow if results are favorable.
Category: Drug Development
Question 12
Edward Jenner developed the first vaccine against polio.
Correct Answer
False
False. In 1796 Edward Jenner developed the first vaccine against smallpox, showing that deliberate vaccination could control an infectious disease. Polio vaccines came much later, in the 20th century.
Category: Regulation and History
Question 13
William Withering used the foxglove plant to treat dropsy, the fluid buildup now recognized as a sign of heart failure.
Correct Answer
True
True. Dropsy was the old term for edema, and Withering's work with foxglove in 18th-century England led to digitalis drugs for heart failure and rhythm disorders. Digoxin, a modern drug from this source, is still in use.
Category: Regulation and History
Question 14
Highly lipid-soluble drugs cross the placenta poorly and rarely reach the fetus.
Correct Answer
False
False. Lipid-soluble drugs cross the placenta easily, while drugs that are highly bound to plasma proteins cross less readily. Nurses should assume that any drug taken during pregnancy can reach the fetus.
Category: Special Populations
Question 15
Cardiac output and uterine blood flow both increase during pregnancy.
Correct Answer
True
True. Cardiac output rises during pregnancy to supply the growing uterus and placenta, and uterine blood flow increases with it. These circulatory changes are among the reasons drug distribution and elimination can differ in a pregnant client.
Category: Special Populations
Question 16
Renal blood flow decreases during pregnancy, so drugs eliminated by the kidneys are cleared more slowly.
Correct Answer
False
False. Renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate increase during pregnancy, so many drugs eliminated by the kidneys are cleared more rapidly. Dosing needs can change as pregnancy progresses.
Category: Special Populations
Question 17
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 sorted habit-forming drugs into schedules based on their potential for abuse.
Correct Answer
True
True. The Controlled Substances Act set controls on manufacturing, distributing and prescribing habit-forming drugs and created the five drug schedules. The DEA was established in 1973 to enforce it.
Category: Controlled Substances
Question 18
A drug can belong to only one therapeutic classification.
Correct Answer
False
False. A drug can have more than one therapeutic classification; metoprolol, for example, is both an antihypertensive and an antianginal. Its mechanism of action, and therefore its pharmacologic class, stays the same.
Category: Drug Classification
Question 19
Pharmacogenetics studies how a client's inherited genetic variations affect the response to drugs.
Correct Answer
True
True. Pharmacogenetics examines how genetic variants alter drug receptors, target molecules and drug metabolism, which can change both therapeutic effects and the risk of adverse effects. Its goal is drug therapy tailored to the individual.
Category: Special Populations
Question 20
A drug's chemical name is the name nurses use most often in clinical practice.
Correct Answer
False
False. Chemical names describe molecular structure and are long and hard to pronounce, so they are used mainly by chemists and pharmacists. Nurses use generic and brand names, with sodium chloride a common exception.
Category: Drug Names and Sources