Information on Narcotics for Nursing Pharmacology

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Pharm MOD 1 Discussion – Group 1 During clinical, you are assigned to care for a client receiving morphine IV for control of postoperative pain. The clinical instructor has assigned you to explain the following: A) What are the major differences between narcotic agonists, narcotic agonists-antagonists, and narcotic antagonists? Narcotic agonists are drugs that react with the opioid receptors throughout the body to cause analgesia, sedation, or euphoria. These drugs are highly addictive (p. 408). Narcotic agonists-antagonists react with some opioid receptor sites to stimulate activity and block other opioid receptor sites. These drugs are not as addictive as pure narcotic agonists (p. 414). Narcotic antagonists, which work to reverse the effects of narcotics, are used to treat narcotic overdose or to reverse unacceptable adverse effects (p. 417). B) Describe the therapeutic actions, indications, contraindications, the most common adverse reactions, and important drug-drug interactions for a narcotic. The narcotic agonist act at specific opioid receptor sites in the CNS to produce analgesia, sedation, and a sense of well-being. They also are used as antitussives and as adjuncts to general anesthesia to produce rapid analgesia, sedation, and respiratory depression. Indications for narcotic agonists include relief of severe acute or chronic pain, preoperative medication, analgesia during anesthesia, and specific individual indications, depending on the receptor affinity (p. 409). Narcotic agonists are contraindicated in the following conditions: presence of known allergy to any narcotic agonist to avoid hypersensitivity reactions; diarrhea caused by toxic poisons because depression of GI activity could lead to increased absorption and toxicity; and after biliary surgery or surgical anastomoses because of the adverse effects associated with slowed GI activity
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