Universitat Internacional de Catalunya - Barcelona

Pharmacology

• code 13548
• course 3
• term Semester 1
• type op
• credits 6

Module: ELECTIVE

Matter: ELECTIVE

Main language of instruction: English

Other languages of instruction: Catalan, Spanish

Head instructor

Dra. Blanca RUBÍ - brubi@uic.es

Office hours

By appointment via e-mail: 

• Professor of lectures: Núria Casals : ncasals@uic.es
• Professor of clinical cases : Jose Miguel Llombart, jllombart@uic.es

Graduates in dentistry have a direct responsibility in the prescription and administration of medications commonly used in dental practice. You should thus be prepared to select the drug which is most appropriate for each patient in the correct administration regime, assess its effects, both therapeutic and adverse, and educate the patient on its use.

In addition to in-depth knowledge on the pharmacology of the drugs prescribed, you must know other pharmacological groups in enough depth to assess, for each case, the interactions of the medication that the patient is taking, with the medication prescribed specifically for dental disease.

There are no pre-requisites

To introduce the main groups of drugs and medicines that are representative of each group: indications, action mechanisms, side effects and contraindications.

To introduce the main routes of drug administration and the processes of absorption, metabolism, distribution and clearance, as well as the existing tools for their study.

To demonstrate the main types of drug interaction.

To show the students the different physiological and pathological effects of modulating drugs.

To show the utilities and management of major drug databases.

To familiarise the student with reading comprehension and critical papers in pharmacology.

• Understanding the basics of action, indications and efficacy of pharmacological interventions based on available scientific evidence.
• Ability to prescribe the appropriate medication for the patient and the various pathologies
• Identifying adverse drug reactions and drug interactions
• Know how to use databases available drugs
• Ability to work in groups

• 08 - Knowing how to share information with other healthcare professionals and how to work as part of a team.
• 16 - Understanding the fundamental basis of actions, instructions and the efficiency of medicines and other healthcare interventions, knowing what their side-effects, interactions, systemic effects and interactions with other organs are, based on the scientific knowledge available.
• 60 - Knowing about general and clinical pharmacology for dental practice
• 61 - Knowing the pharmacological grounding for the various anaesthetic techniques, both local and general, as well as the role of sedation and general anaesthesia in terms of managing dental patients
• 72 - Appropriate medical prescriptions, while being aware of their guidelines and warnings, systemic effects and repercussions on other organs

At the end of the pharmacology course, the student should be able to:

1. Identify the characteristics of drugs that are relevant to their safe and effective use.

2. Make use of agile and reliable sources of information about medicines.

3. Understand the methods of study in clinical pharmacology.

4. Identify the pharmacological group to which each drug belongs.

5. Identify the effects, indications and contraindications of common group therapies.

6. Describe the precautions and most important aspects to consider when prescribing and administering medication.

7. Identify the precautions in the pharmacological treatment of patients regarding their dental disease and concomitant medication.

• 3.01 - Identify the most important characteristics of the different groups of medicines: pharmacological activity, mechanism of action, indications, dosage, contraindications and adverse effects.
• 3.02 - Using information sources of Pharmacology
• 3.19 - Know the pharmacological treatment of pain

Chapter 1. General concepts in pharmacology.
      1.1. Variability of the pharmacological effect.
      1.2. Pharmacodinamics.
      1.3. Pharmacokinetics.
      1.4. Adverse reactions.
      1.5. Clinical assays.
      1.6. Interactions.

Chapter 2. Medicaments that act on the autonomic and peripheral nervous systems.
      2.1. Sympathomimetics.
      2.2. Adrenergic inhibitors.
      2.3. Parasympathomimetics.
      2.4. Cholinergic antagonists.
      2.5. Muscle relaxants.

Chapter 3. Medicaments that act on the central nervous system.
      3.1. Narcotics analgesics.
      3.2. Anxiolytics.
      3.3. Sleep pharmacology.
      3.4. Antiparkinsonians.
      3.5. Anticonvulsants.

Chapter 4. Psychopharmacology.
      4.1. Antipsychotics.
      4.2. Antidepressants.
      4.3. Drugs for manic illnesses.

Chapter 5. Local anaesthetics.

Chapter 6. Treatment of pain, inflammation and allergy.

      AINES      

      Corticosteroids.
      Antihistamines.
      The pharmacologic treatment of gout.
      Anti-rheumatic agents.
      Immunosuppresants.

Chapter 7. Antiinfectious pharmacology.
      7.1. General concepts of antibiotics.
      7.2. Beta-lactam antibiotics.
      7.3. Aminoglycosides.
      7.4. Other bactericidal antibiotics.
      7.5. Bacteriostatic antibiotics.
      7.6. Tuberculosis treatment.
      7.7. Antifungals.
      7.8. Antivirals.

Chapter 8. Drugs for the renal system

Chapter 9. Cardiovascular system pharmacology.
       Antihypertensives.
       Medicines for heart failure and shock.
       Medicines for the treatment of ischaemic cardiopathy.
       Antiarrhythmics.
       Medicines for the treatment of coagulopathies.
       Medicines for the treatment of
       Homeostatic medicines
       
Chapter 10. Pharmacology of the respiratory system.
       1. Pharmacology of asthma.
       2. Mucolytics.

Chapter 11. Pharmacology of the digestive system.
       Laxatives.
       Antiulceratives.
       Antiemetic drugs
       Antidiarrheal drugs.

Chapter 12. Antineoplasic agents.

Chapter 13. The endocrine system.
       Thyroid pathology.
       Osteoporosis.
       Oral contraceptives.

       Treatment of diabetes

Chapter 14. Emergencies in dentistry.

The content will be taught using two different teaching and learning activities:

- Lectures: During the lectures, the lecturer will transmit knowledge in the classroom setting to the entire group of students.

- Case study method: Students will be separated into groups to solve the clinical cases provided by the lecturer. In the classroom, the students will present their findings with the active participation of the lecturer.

1st examination sitting:

• Midterm exam: 20% of the final mark.

• Final examination: 60% of the final mark. Students must obtain a minimum score of 4.5 on the final exam to pass the course.

• Case method and class participation: 20% of the final mark.

2nd examination sitting:

• Exam: 80% of the final mark. Students must obtain a minimum score of 4.5 on the final exam to pass the course.

- Case method and class participation: 20% of the final mark

Students repeating the subject:

For students repeating the subject, the final exam worths 100%

If the student wishes to attend to the midterm exam, it will worth 20% of the final mark and the final exam will represent 80%; a minimum od 4.5 in the final exam is needed to make the average.

Case Method evaluation:

• In some sessions of the CC the students have to solve an exercise that should be delivered to the teacher at the end of the session.  In other sessions, the students will have to make an oral presentation and discuss a scientific paper.  Exposition sessions are mandatory for all the groups. All the students will be confronted with some questions regarding the oral presentations.
• Attendance is important. The students that attend to all the sessions will have a bonus in their final mark of the clinical cases.
• Students that miss one session: only the sessions in which the student participated will be taken into account to make the average. No bonus will be applied. Students that miss more than one session: only the sessions in which the student participated will be considered to make the average. No bonus will be applied and 0.5 point will be deducted for each session missed (from the final mark of CC). Penalties for justified absences will be considered individually. 

Important considerations:

1. Plagiarism, copying or any other action that may be considered cheating will be zero in that evaluation section. Besides, plagiarism during exams will mean the immediate failing of the whole subject.
2. In the second-sitting exams, the maximum grade students will be able to obtain is "Excellent" (grade with honors distinction will not be posible).
3. Changes of the calendar, exam dates or the evaluation system will not be accepted.
4. Exchange students (Erasmus and others) or repeaters will be subjected to the same conditions as the rest of the students.

Recommended:

• Tripathi. "Essentials of Pharmacology for Dentistry". 2nd edition. Jaypee
• J.Florez "Farmacología humana" Quinta edición. Ed. Elsevier-Masson
• Goodman and Gilman's. "The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics". 12th edition. McGraw-Hill Professional

Other books:

• P. Lorenzo, A moreno, y otros. "Velázquez. Farmacología básica y clínica". Editorial Panamericana, 2004.
• Enid A. Neidle, John A. Yagiela "Pharmacology and therapeutics for dentistry" . Ed. Mosby- 4th edition