Drug Safety Physician Interview Questions and Answers

PV stands for Pharmacovigilance, which is the science and activities related to the detection, assessment, understanding, and prevention of adverse effects or any other drug-related problems.

• PV is the process of monitoring and evaluating the safety of drugs or medical products.

• It involves collecting and analyzing data on adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and other drug-related problems.

• PV aims to identify and minimize risks associated with the use of drugs.

• It plays a crucial role...read more

Antimicrobial drugs are medications used to treat infections caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, or parasites.

• Antimicrobial drugs target specific components of microorganisms to inhibit their growth or kill them.

• Examples include antibiotics (e.g. penicillin), antifungals (e.g. fluconazole), antivirals (e.g. acyclovir), and antiparasitics (e.g. metronidazole).

• Mechanisms of action include disrupting cell wall synthesis, inhibiting protein synthesis, interfering with DNA replica...read more

Half life of a drug is the time it takes for the concentration of the drug in the body to be reduced by half.

• Half life is a pharmacokinetic parameter used to determine the rate at which a drug is eliminated from the body.

• It helps in determining the dosing frequency of a drug - drugs with longer half-lives may be dosed less frequently.

• Half life is influenced by factors such as metabolism, excretion, and distribution of the drug in the body.

• For example, the half life of aspirin...read more

Pharmacovigilance (PV) monitors drug safety, focusing on adverse events and Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs).

• Pharmacovigilance (PV) is the science of monitoring the safety of medicines.

• ICSRs are reports that document adverse events related to drug use.

• The process includes data collection, assessment, and reporting to regulatory authorities.

• Example: A patient reports a rash after taking a new medication; this is documented in an ICSR.

• PV aims to identify and minimize risk...read more

Adverse drug reactions can be classified into six types.

• Type A: Augmented pharmacological effects

• Type B: Bizarre effects

• Type C: Chronic effects

• Type D: Delayed effects

• Type E: End-of-treatment effects

• Type F: Failure of therapy

Adverse drug reactions are harmful or unintended reactions to medications.

• Adverse drug reactions are unwanted effects caused by a medication.

• They can range from mild side effects to severe reactions.

• Examples include nausea, dizziness, allergic reactions, and liver damage.

• Monitoring and reporting adverse drug reactions is important for patient safety.

There are 4 types of drug interactions: pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, combined toxicity, and additive effects.

• Pharmacokinetic interactions affect the way a drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, or excreted.

• Pharmacodynamic interactions occur when two drugs with similar or opposing effects are taken together.

• Combined toxicity interactions happen when two drugs with toxic effects are taken together, resulting in a greater toxicity.

• Additive effects occur when two drugs ...read more