PTCB Practice Test 1

PO is “by mouth” and NPO is “nothing by mouth.”

Lunesta (eszopiclone) is a hypnotic that is used to treat insomnia.

Medicare Part D is a federal government program which subsidizes the costs of prescription drugs and drug insurance premiums for Medicare Recipients. This program was authorized by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.

OxyContin is a schedule II medication. There have been numerous proposals to remove marijuana from schedule I, but the government has declined to make this change.

Graves' Disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism.

To solve this problem, you must first find the total number of minutes:
60 x 4 = 240
Then find mL/min:
400/240 = 1.67 ml infused in 1 minute.
Then multiply this by the drop factor:
1.67 x 12 = 20 drops per minute.

Antagonism is when two drugs work against each other. Synergism is when the effect of two drugs together is greater than the sum of their individual effects. Additive Effect is when the effect of two drugs together is equal to the sum of their individual effects.

Kava is sedating and it is usually consumed in order to relax without disrupting mental clarity.

Gross profit is selling price minus purchase price. For net profit you also need to subtract the dispensing cost as well.

Nexium is used to treat GERD.

Generic proton pump inhibitors usually have the suffix “prazole”

This is an alligation problem, so you will put 50 in the upper left of your tic-tac-toe table, 5 in the lower left, and 20 in the middle. Subtracting across the middle you will put 15 in the upper right and 30 in the lower right. So you need 15 parts of the 50% and 30 parts of the 5%, for a total of 45 parts.

Amount of 50% needed will be:
(15/45) x 600 = 200

Amount of 5% needed will be:
(30/45) x 600 = 400

There are 3 methods for comminution: trituration, pulverization by intervention, and levigation.

Form 222 is a triplicate order form for schedule 1 and 2 controlled substances. The purchaser submits copy 1 and 2 to the supplier and keeps copy 3 on file. When the order arrives, the number of packages received must be written on the form along with the date. This form is then kept on file for at least 2 years.

To convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 32 from the Fahrenheit temperature and then divide by 1.8.

Until the Durham-Humphrey Amendment was passed, there was no requirement that any drug be labeled for sale by prescription only. The amendment defined prescription drugs as those unsafe for self-medication and which should therefore be used only under a doctor's supervision.

The Red Book is the leading resource for information on drug pricing.

The primary function of a prescription formulary is to specify particular medications that are approved to be prescribed under a particular insurance policy. Formularies are developed by evaluating the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of various drugs. With a closed formulary the insurance policy won't pay for drugs that are not on the list. An open formulary allows drugs that are not on the list, but will generally charge a higher co-pay for those drugs.

Several studies have shown that highlighting sections of drug names using tall man (mixed case) letters can help distinguish similar drug names, making them less prone to mix-ups. The tall man letters are used to help draw attention to the dissimilarities in drug names. For instance Celexa would be written as CeleXA to avoid confusion with CeleBREX. The Institute for Safe Medical Practices (ISMP), the FDA, and the Joint Commission promote the use of tall man letters as one method of reducing confusion between similar drug names.

They should alert the pharmacist. The other choices are beyond the scope of the pharmacy technician.