Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents: 1. Introduction: Orientation to pharmacology -- Application of pharmacology in nursing practice Pharmacology and the nursing process -- Drug regulation, legislation, development, names, and information – 2. Basic principles of pharmacology: Pharmacokinetics -- Pharmacodynamics -- Drug-drug and drug-food interactions -- Adverse drug reactions -- Individual variation in drug responses -- 3. Drug therapy across the lifespan: Drug therapy during pregnancy and breast-feeding -- Drug therapy in pediatric patients -- Drug therapy in geriatric patients – 4. Peripheral nervous system drugs: Basic principles of neuropharmacology -- Physiology of the peripheral nervous system -- Muscarinic agonists and antagonists -- Cholinesterase inhibitors and their use in myasthenia gravis -- Neuromuscular blocking agents and ganglionic blocking agents – Adrenergic agonists -- Adrenergic antagonists -- Indirect-acting antiadrenergic agents -- 5. Central nervous system drugs --Introduction to central nervous system pharmacology -- Drugs for Parkinson's disease -- Drugs for epilepsy -- Drugs for muscle spasm and spasticity -- Drugs for headache -- Local anesthetics -- General anesthetics -- Opioid (narcotic) analgesics, opioid antagonists, and nonopioid centrally acting analgesics -- Pain management in patients with cancer -- Antipsychotic agents and their use in schizophrenia -- Antidepressants -- Drugs for bipolar disorder – Benzodiazepines and other drugs for anxiety and insomnia -- Central nervous system stimulants and their use in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder – Other psychologic disorders: panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and alzheimer’s disease -- Drug abuse: basic considerations -- Drug abuse: alcohol -- Drug abuse: opioids, depressants, psychostimulants, marijuana, psychedelics, inhalants and nicotine -- 6. Drugs that affect fluid and electrolyte balance: Diuretics -- Agents affecting the volume and ion content of body fluids -- 7. Drugs that affect the heart, blood vessels, and blood: Review of hemodynamics -- Drugs acting on the renin-angiotensin system -- Calcium channel blockers -- Vasodilators -- Drugs for hypertension – Drugs for angina pectoris -- Drugs for heart failure -- Antidysrhythmic drugs -- Prophylaxis of coronary heart disease: drugs that lower LDL cholesterol levels -- Anticoagulant, antiplatelet, and thrombolytic drugs -- Management of myocardial infarction – Drugs for deficiency anemias – Hematopoietic and thrombopoietic growth factors -- 8. Drugs for endocrine disorders -- Drugs for diabetes mellitus -- Drugs for thyroid disorders -- Drugs related to hypothalamic and pituitary function -- Drugs for disorders of the adrenal cortex – Androgens -- 9. Women's health: Estrogens and progestins -- Birth control -- Drug therapy of infertility -- Uterine stimulants and relaxants -- 10. Anti-inflammartory, antiallergic, and immunologic drugs: Review of the immune system – Pediatric immunization -- Immunosuppressants -- Antihistamines -- Cyclooxygenase inhibitors: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen -- Glucocorticoids in nonendocrine diseases --11. Drugs for bone and joint disorders: Drug therapy of rheumatoid arthritis and gout -- Drugs affecting calcium levels and bone mineralization -- 12. Respiratory tract drugs -- Drugs for asthma -- Drugs for allergic rhinitis, cough, and colds -- 13. Gastrointestinal drugs -- Drugs for peptic ulcer disease -- Laxatives -- Other gastrointestinal drugs -- 14. Nutrition -- Vitamins -- Enteral and parenteral nutrition -- Drugs for obesity -- 15. Chemotherapy of infectious diseases -- Basic principles of antimicrobial therapy -- Drugs that weaken the bacterial cell wall I: penicillins -- Drugs that weaken the bacterial cell wall II: cephalosporins, imipenem, aztreonam, vancomycin, teicoplanin, and fosfomycin -- Bacteriostatic inhibitors of protein synthesis: tetracyclines, macrolides, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, spectinomycin, an ddalflopristin/ quinupristin -- Aminoglycosides: bactericidal inhibitors of protein synthesis -- Sulfonamides and trimethoprim -- Drug therapy of urinary tract infections -- Antimycobacterial agents : drugs for tuberculosis, leprosy, and mycobacterium avium complex infection -- Miscellaneous antibacterial drugs : fluoroquinolones, rifampin, metronidazole, polymyxins, and bacitracin -- Antifungal agents -- Antiviral agents I : drugs for non-HIV viral infections -- Antiviral agents II: drugs for HIV infection and related opportunistic infections -- Drug therapy of sexually transmitted diseases -- Antiseptics and disinfectants -- 16. Chemotherapy of parasitic diseases: Anthelmintics -- Antiprotozoal drugs 1: antimalarial agents -- Antiprotozoal drugs II: miscellaneous agents – Ectoparasiticides -- 17. Cancer chemotherapy: Basic principles of cancer chemotherapy -- Anticancer drugs --18. Additional important drugs: Drugs for the eye --Drugs for the skin -- Miscellaneous noteworthy drugs -- 19. Alternative therapy: Herbal supplements --20. Toxicology: Management of poisoning --