Pharmacology & Drug Classifications Flashcards
7 cards from real Chemical Dependency Counselor CCDC Exam practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Pharmacology & Drug Classifications flashcards as text
Buprenorphine is best described as which type of pharmacological agent?
Answer: Partial opioid agonist with antagonist properties
Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist/antagonist that produces lower levels of euphoria than full agonists while reducing cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Severe alcohol withdrawal is primarily life-threatening due to the risk of:
Answer: Seizures and delirium tremens (DTs)
Severe alcohol withdrawal can progress to seizures and delirium tremens, which can be fatal without proper medical management including benzodiazepine administration.
The concept of 'cross-tolerance' in pharmacology refers to:
Answer: Tolerance to one drug reducing the effectiveness of a pharmacologically similar drug
Cross-tolerance occurs when tolerance developed to one substance reduces the effects of pharmacologically similar substances acting on the same receptor systems.
Methadone is effective in opioid maintenance therapy primarily because:
Answer: Its long half-life prevents withdrawal and reduces cravings with once-daily dosing
Methadone's long half-life of 24–36 hours allows once-daily dosing that stabilizes opioid levels, prevents withdrawal, and reduces cravings without producing significant euphoria at therapeutic doses.
Which of the following withdrawal syndromes typically requires medical detoxification due to potential fatality?
Answer: Alcohol withdrawal
Alcohol withdrawal is potentially fatal due to the risk of tonic-clonic seizures and delirium tremens; opioid withdrawal, while severe, is rarely life-threatening in otherwise healthy adults.
Acamprosate (Campral) helps maintain abstinence in alcohol use disorder by:
Answer: Modulating glutamate and GABA systems to reduce post-acute withdrawal cravings
Acamprosate modulates the glutamate and GABA neurotransmission disrupted by chronic alcohol use, reducing post-acute withdrawal symptoms and alcohol cravings.
The 'ceiling effect' of buprenorphine means that:
Answer: Beyond a certain dose, increasing the dose does not proportionally increase opioid effects
As a partial agonist, buprenorphine has a ceiling effect where doses beyond a threshold do not produce proportionally greater opioid effects, significantly reducing overdose risk compared to full agonists.
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