Thyroid and Anti-Thyroid Medications – Pharmacology (Pharm) – Endocrine System – Level Up RN
The indications, mode of action, side effects, and key points associated with the following thyroid and anti-thyroid medications: levothyroxine, liothyronine, propylthiouracil (PTU), and strong iodine solution (Lugol’s solution).
Video, i’m going to continue my coverage of endocrine system medications. specifically, i’ll be covering thyroid and anti-thyroid medications. if you have our level up rn pharmacology second edition flashcards, definitely pull those out and follow along with me. at the end of the video, i’m going to provide a quick quiz for
You guys to test your understanding of some of the key facts and concepts that i’ll be covering in so let’s start by talking about our thyroid medications which include levothyroxine as well as liothyronine. so these medications really act as a synthetic form of our naturally occurring thyroid hormones, and we
Would use them in the treatment of hypothyroidism. so side effects are minimal unless the dose is too high. in that case, we may end up with signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism. so signs and symptoms can include anxiety, gi upset, sweating, weight loss, and heat intolerance if the patient has hyperthyroidism. there’s
Also a black box warning with this medication class to warn people that thyroid hormones are not to be used for the treatment of obesity or to help the patient lose weight. in terms of the dosing, patient’s tsh and t4 levels, and, periodically, we may need to increase or decrease their dose according to
Whatever those tsh and t4 levels are. lifelong treatment is required with these thyroid medications, so it’s not like they’re going to take levothyroxine for a little while and suddenly their thyroid gland is going to produce sufficient t3 and t4. that’s not going to be the case, so they’re going to need to take this
For the rest of their lives. the dose may need to be adjusted at times, but it will be lifelong treatment. in terms of administration, we want to counsel the patient that they should take this medication on an empty stomach with a full glass of water before medications with a full glass of water well before the
Breakfast trays are delivered to the floor. so in terms of how i remember that these medications are used to boost up the thyroid hormone levels, or liothyronine, they both have that thyro, remember that these medications are used all right. now, we’re going to talk about different medications i’m going to talk
About. is used in the treatment of grave’s disease, which is a key cause of hyperthyroidism. it is also used in preparation for a thyroidectomy. so ptu works by blocking the synthesis of thyroid hormones, so it helps to bring those levels down. which is a decrease in granulocytes, so with this side effect,
It does place the patient at increased risk for infection. well as hepatotoxicity, which is a black box warning for this medication class. also, if the patient’s dose of ptu is too high, it can cause this includes symptoms such as lethargy, weight gain, cold intolerance, bradycardia, and depression. so as
The nurse, when a patient is on ptu, you want to monitor their cbc levels because of that side effect of agranulocytosis. and we’re also going to want to monitor their liver function because of that side effect of hepatotoxicity. so the way i remember this medication and what it’s for when i look at p-t-u, i think of
Prevents thyroid for being up too high, and that’s exactly what it does. it prevents those thyroid levels another anti-thyroid medication to know is something called lugol’s solution, which is a strong iodine solution. so this is a combination of iodine and potassium iodide, and it is used in the treatment of
Hyperthyroidism as well as hyperthyroidism that’s life-threatening. thyroidectomy. so lugol’s solution is absorbed by the thyroid gland, and there it inhibits the production and release of thyroid hormones. side and iodism. so signs and symptoms of iodism is inflammation of the mucosa in the mouth
This medication tastes really bad, apparently. understanding. so you can mix it with a lot of okay. time for a quiz. question number 1. levothyroxine should be given once a day with food. true or false? the answer is false. it should be given without food and a full glass of water before breakfast. so remember,
We wake them this medication with a full glass of water. medication carries the risk for iodism? question number 3. if a patient’s dose of ptu – so that’s propylthiouracil – is too high, is hypothyroidism. so remember, ptu prevents the thyroid from being up too high, so it reduces those thyroid levels. so
If we do that too much, okay. i hope these quiz questions have been helpful. hopefully, the video helped as well. if you got any of these questions wrong, replay the video. i know you’ve got this, so take care and good luck studying. i invite you to subscribe to our channel and share a link with your
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Transcribed from video
Thyroid and Anti-Thyroid Medications – Pharmacology (Pharm) – Endocrine System – @Level Up RN By Level Up RN