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Georgia
State University
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Case Studies
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Introduction to Pharmacology for Teachers Dr. Nydia R. Hanna
The Guinea Case Cavy is a stocky guinea pig with short legs. She has long straight hair in brown and cream that grows very rapidly and distinguishes her as a Peruvian guinea pig. Even with the long bush of hair, it is evident that Cavy is overweight. Cavy has been the laboratory guinea pig for seven years. She has been involved in the development of various drugs and dosage forms. Obviously, her involvement has been as the front line patient for drugs being tested. Cavy has had the opportunity to experiment with 16 drugs over the past two years. Cavy was perfect for the job since the lab tested psychoactive drugs and Cavy's brain is very similar to a human brain. Cavy has had her share of nicotine, cocaine, opioids, hallucinogens and of course alcohol. Cavy has been treated well as far as living arrangements and amenities. She has had all the vegetables and fruits necessary to support a healthy guinea pig. The favorite part of her diet is the cacao nuts that the science department has flown in from Peru especially for Cavy. She eats cacao beans and pineapple juice three times out of the 6 meals she usually has every day. A sociable gal, Cavy has had two partners in the past 2 years. She has not, however, had any offspring. Recently, though, Cavy has withdrawn from socialization and seems to be spending more time eating. Yesterday, a graduate student noticed that Cavy was making strange movements--almost seizure like actions. The graduate student took Cavy to the pharmacologist to ask what to do about the seizures. Evidently, after two years of drug trials, Cavy has developed a form of epilepsy. Since Cavy is so near and dear to the science department, they took blood samples in order to decide what type of therapy would be appropriate for Cavy. (The results of the blood test and profile for Cavy are available for your review.) The pharmacologist decided that they would try to control the seizures with phenytoin. What would you need to know to dose Cavy? What are some specific considerations in dosing Cavy? What would be the appropriate dosing regimen of phenytoin for Cavy? |
Albert was a good looking boy of 16. He didn't play sports, but seemed to have quite an aptitude for music. He had friends of all types, from every "clique" in the school. But Albert was one of those kids in school that always seemed to blurt out unusual sentences in the middle of class. Some days, his responses made sense in the context of the class, but most times they were off the wall. He would laugh at nothing..just start laughing to himself. Most of the other students knew that he smoked pot and drank alcohol. But lately, Albert seemed to be coming up with more outrageous remarks, and then not really remembering that he said them. Students were commenting on how he had changed. While he used to be able to sit in class for the whole period, now he gets up and walks around- agitated and anxious. Albert liked to eat candy in class, but now said he had no desire to eat sugar anymore. One day while doing cooperative groups in class, the noise level was a little bit louder than normal, but to Albert, the noise was deafening. He said that he had to leave the room. Another day in physics class, students were designing and building a rollercoaster. Albert was able to participate and contribute to his group. At one point, one of the machines fell off the counter and landed on Albert's toe. He did not flinch. He felt no pain. His sister said that she saw Albert rummaging through his mother's medicine cabinet in February. His Mom had some difficulty coping with things and sometimes had anxiety attacks, and so the doctor had placed her on some medications. His sister also noticed that the supply of medicine seemed to be diminishing. Last Friday night , Albert was admitted to the ER with elevated blood pressure, a rapid pulse, bronchodilation, paranoia, pupillary dilation, chest pain and a body temperature of 101 degrees. Albert thought he was having a heart attack. What had really happened to Albert?
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The Case of
Albert
The
Case of Melanie
Melanie was a very popular 11 th grade cheerleader who loved athletics. She attended aerobic classes five times a week. She had many friends and a cute boyfriend named Scott who loved for her to wear tight clothing. She was a slim 102 pounds on a 5" 7" frame.
Scott loved Melanie and thought they had a wonderful relationship, except there was one thing Melanie would not do with Scott...go out to a restaurant and eat dinner. Melanie was very conscious of her diet and carried a calorie counter book in her purse. Melanie was very "in tune" to her body, and if there was just a slight puffiness at her waist or stomach, Melanie would drink herbal tea to release the extra water weight. Melanie said she was always going to the bathroom because of the diuretic effect of the herbal tea.
A new coach came to the high school and wanted all of the girls to try out for cheerleading again. The coach came from a top cheering squad and seemed to have a different vision for the team. Melanie did not make the cheerleading team. This put Melanie in a depressive mood. Melanie's mom became worried about her depression and took Melanie to the doctor for antidepressant medication. The pills worked for a period of time and Melanie began to go to social events and even eat at restaurants. But after 6 months, Melanie began to lose weight.
One evening, Melanie fainted in aerobics class. She was admitted to the hospital with shallow breathing, hypotension, dehydration, and cardiac arrhythmia. Her blood tests showed low potassium levels, low protein and albumin, and low magnesium. She weighed 71 pounds.
What has really happened to Melanie?