Kuwait MOH Pharmacist Exam key terms

The study of how the body handles a medicine over time: absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. It explains changes in plasma drug concentration and is used to design safe dosing regimens for individual patients.

The proportion of an administered dose that reaches the systemic circulation in unchanged form, together with the speed at which it does so. An intravenous dose is taken as 100% bioavailable.

Breakdown of an orally swallowed medicine by enzymes in the gut wall or liver before it reaches the general circulation. It can greatly lower oral bioavailability and is avoided by routes such as intravenous or sublingual.

The time needed for the plasma concentration of a medicine, or the total amount in the body, to fall by one half. It guides how often a dose is given and how long effects persist after stopping.

An apparent volume that relates the total amount of drug in the body to its plasma concentration. A large value suggests wide distribution into tissues and helps in calculating a loading dose.

A measure of a medicine's safety margin, usually the ratio between a dose producing toxicity and a dose producing the desired effect. A narrow index means close monitoring and careful titration are needed.

A molecule that binds the same receptor site as the natural transmitter or agonist and blocks it, an effect that can be overcome by raising the agonist concentration, shifting the dose-response curve to the right.

A large family of liver enzymes that oxidise most medicines. Changes in their activity, through inhibition or induction, are a common cause of variable drug response and clinically important interactions.

Measuring blood concentrations of selected medicines with a narrow therapeutic range, such as digoxin, phenytoin or vancomycin, so that levels stay within a target range and toxicity is avoided.

A harmful or unintended response to a medicine used at normal doses. Reactions are classified by mechanism and severity, documented in the patient record and reported through safety systems.

A change in the effect of one medicine caused by another, through altered metabolism, protein binding, absorption or additive pharmacology. Interactions may reduce efficacy or increase toxicity.

Reducing or spacing the doses of medicines cleared mainly by the kidney in patients with impaired renal function, guided by estimated creatinine clearance, to prevent drug accumulation and toxicity.

Coordinated efforts to use antimicrobials appropriately: right drug, dose, duration and route, with timely de-escalation and avoidance of unnecessary treatment. It improves outcomes and limits resistance.

Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm at any stage, from prescribing and dispensing to administration. Errors are reported and analysed to improve safety.

Different products with similar names or packaging that are easily confused, leading to wrong-drug errors. Tall-man lettering, segregated storage and read-back checks reduce the risk.

A formal process of obtaining a complete list of all medicines a patient is taking and comparing it with new prescriptions at transitions of care, resolving discrepancies so that omissions or duplications are avoided.

Structured communication with a patient about a medicine: what it is for, how and when to take it, expected effects, side effects and what to do if a dose is missed.

A stock rotation rule in which products with the earliest expiry date are issued first. It protects patients from expired stock and reduces financial loss from wastage.

Any inactive ingredient added to a formulation to aid manufacture, stability, absorption or acceptability, such as fillers, binders, preservatives and colours. Excipients can still cause adverse effects in sensitive patients.

The absence of a significant difference in the rate and extent of absorption between two products containing the same active ingredient, normally shown by comparative pharmacokinetic studies in healthy volunteers.

A formulation designed to slow, delay or target the release of drug after administration, reducing dose frequency or smoothing plasma levels. Such products must not be crushed unless specifically permitted.

Freeze-drying: a solution is frozen and water is removed under vacuum by sublimation, giving a dry powder that is reconstituted before use. It suits unstable medicines such as many biologicals and injectables.

The period during which a product is expected to remain within its approved specification when stored under the labelled conditions. It underpins expiry dating and the assignment of beyond-use dates.

An inactive derivative that is converted in the body, usually by enzymes, into the active drug. It is used to improve absorption, stability or targeting of the active molecule.

The study of how chemical features of a molecule, such as functional groups, size, lipophilicity and stereochemistry, relate to its biological activity, guiding rational design of more potent or safer analogues.

The spatial arrangement of chemical features in a molecule that is necessary for a particular biological activity. It is used to design new active compounds and to explain receptor binding.

One of two non-superimposable mirror-image forms of a chiral molecule. Enantiomers can differ markedly in potency, metabolism and toxicity, so many medicines are now developed as single isomers.

The regulatory approval allowing a specific medicine to be sold and used in a country after assessment of its quality, safety and efficacy. In Kuwait it is granted through the Ministry of Health.

The science and activities concerned with detecting, assessing, understanding and preventing adverse effects or other medicine-related problems. It includes spontaneous reporting and periodic safety review of products.

Prescribing or supplying a registered medicine outside the indication, dose, route or patient group covered by its marketing authorisation. It should be evidence-based, justified, documented and discussed with the patient.

The set of quality-assurance requirements ensuring medicines are consistently produced and controlled to appropriate standards. Compliance is inspected before licensing and monitored throughout the product lifecycle.

The ethical and legal duty to keep a patient's health information private and to share it only for legitimate care, with the patient's consent, or where disclosure is required by law.

A set of practices that keep sterile products and critical sites free of microorganisms, including hand hygiene, sterile gloves, disinfection of components and working in controlled unidirectional airflow.

Sterilising a finished, sealed product inside its final container, for example by moist heat, radiation or ethylene oxide. It is preferred to aseptic processing whenever the product can withstand the process.

The date after which a compounded or multi-dose preparation must not be used, calculated from the time of preparation and based on stability data, storage conditions and the risk of microbial contamination.

A substance, typically bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide, that produces fever when it enters the bloodstream. Sterile products for injection must be validated or tested to be free of pyrogens.

The lowest concentration of an antimicrobial that visibly prevents growth of a given organism in the laboratory. It guides dose selection and the interpretation of susceptibility test results.

A nitrogen-containing basic plant compound with strong pharmacological activity, such as morphine, atropine or caffeine. Many alkaloids are used as medicines or as templates for synthetic drugs.

Adjusting a herbal extract so that a defined amount of a marker or active compound is present in each batch, helping to ensure consistent quality, potency and clinical effect between batches.

A change in the effect of a conventional medicine caused by a plant preparation, often through effects on liver enzymes or transporters, such as St John's wort lowering the levels of some drugs.