Drugs for the Musculoskeletal System



Drugs for the Musculoskeletal System

-Drug treatment of musculoskeletal disorders

-Osteomyelitis- infection inside the bone. It is treated with antibiotics.

-Osteoporosis- is a decrease in total bone mass. Treatment consists of estrogen, calcium supplements, and a diet rich in calcium. Fosamax and actonel are used in prevention

-Bursitis, myositis, and synovitis

-Bursitis- inflammation of the bursae.

-Myositis- inflammation of the muscle.

-Synovitis- inflammation of the cavity surrounding a joint.

-Treatment consists of anti-inflammatory agents such as indocin and naprosyn. Sometimes hydrocortisone may be injected.

-Gout- inflammation of the joints that starts when there is an excess of uric acid in the bloodstream. Patients can be treated multiple ways.

-First is with the use of uricosuric drugs, which promote the excretion of uric acid. An example is sulfinpyrazone.

-Another option would be the use of antihyperuricemic drugs, which decrease the amount of uric acid the body produces. An example would be zyloprim.

-Treatments for acute attacks are colchicines, anti-inflammatory, corticosteroids.

-Osteoarthritis- also known as degenerative joint disease. A treatment consists of relieving the pain, protecting the joints from additional injury, and restoring joint function.

-Antiarthritic drugs

-Aspirin

-Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, for patients who cannot tolerate aspirin.

-Rheumatoid arthritis- chronic inflammatory disease that affects the mobile joints.

-In the past high doses of aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were used

-The most common disease-modifying drug is plaquenil

-Corticosteroids may be given either alone or in conjunction with plaquenil.

-The drug of choice for moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis is methotrexate. Aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may still be used with this drug therapy.

-Gold therapy is reserved for those who do not respond to methotrexate. Examples of this drug are imuran and depen. Aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may still be used with this drug therapy.

-Newer classes of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are COX-2 inhibitors. Examples are celebrex and vioxx. This drug treatment is under FDA review.

-Muscle pain- muscle relaxants are prescribed for these patients. The most common is antispasmotics; examples are lioresal, valium, and dantrium. Other muscle relaxants are robaxin, soma, paraflex, and cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride.

-Bone marrow disorders

-Aplastic anemia- failure of the bone marrow to produce enough of all three components of the blood

-Leukemia- over production of white blood cells

-Treatments can consist of blood transfusions, discontinue the offending drug, providing antibiotics until the white blood cell count is restored, treating non-drug induced cases, and considering erythropoietin to increase the red blood cell count.

-Care of patients with musculoskeletal disorders

-Administer pain medication on time.

-Handle patients with care.

-After moving the patient position patient in a position of comfort.

-Attend to psychological needs.

-Let your actions show you are aware of the patient’s fears.

-Refer to page 335-336 for representative drugs for the musculoskeletal system.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download