Introduction:
The route of
drug administration is determined primarily by the properties of the drug i.e.
- Water or lipid solubility
- ionization and by the therapeutic objectives i.e.the desirability of a rapid onset of action
- The need for long-term treatment
- Or restriction of delivery to a local site.
Major routes of drug administration
Routes Of Drug Administration |
There are four
major routes of drug administration which are,
- Enteral route
- Parenteral route
- Topical route
- Pulmonary or inhalation route
1) Enteral route:
- It’s the most common and oldest method.
- Drug is absorbed in to the systemic circulation through the oral or gastric mucosa, small intestine or rectum.
Types of Enteral route:
Enteral routes
include
a)Oral route
b)Sub-lingual
route
A) Oral route:
Oral Route |
- Oral route is the most common route of drug administration.
- It is mostly used for the neutral drugs.
- It may be in the form of tablets, capsules, syrup, emulsions or powders.
Merits:
- Giving a drug by mouth provides many advantages to the patient. Such as
- Oral drugs are easily self-administered.
- Cheapest and economical.
- Irritant drugs which can not be given by parenterals can be given by this route.
- Larger quantity of drug can be given.
- Suitable for producing local action for git e.g. Ant acid
- Toxicities and overdose by the oral route may be overcome with antidotes, such as activated charcoal.
- The drugs preparations need no sterilization.
Demerits:
- Oral route also has some disadvantages, such as
- Drug action has slower onset so not suitable in case of emergency.
- Unpleasant taste of some drugs.
- Unable to use in unconscious patient.
- The pathways involved in oral drug absorption are the most complicated, and the low pH of the stomach may inactivate some drugs.
- Drugs that destroy in git cannot be used e.g. Insulin
- It might cause discoloration of teeth e.g. Iron causes staining, tetracycline’s below 14 cause brown discoloration so are not advisable during pregnancy.
B) Sub-lingual route:
Sub-Lingual Route |
- Placement of drug under the tongue allows a drug to diffuse into the capillary network and therefore, to enter the systemic circulation directly.The drug should be lipid soluble and small
- Examples of drugs given by this route include nitroglycerin, iso-prenaline and oxytoxin.
- Nifedipine used for the treatment of hypertension in emergency is given by sub-lingual rout
Merits:
Sub-lingual
administration has several advantages, including
- Drugs do not go in to the hepatic circulation.
- Convenience of administration.
- Maximum therapeutic concentration can be achieved rapidly
- Low incidence of infection.
Demerits:
Sub-lingual administration of drug has following disadvantages.
- This method is inconvenient.
- Person may swallow the drug
- Might be unpleasant in taste.
-
Repeated use of this process may damage the oral mucosa.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Such a nice post. It is interesting and very informative article. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteHeartburn Sensation
Isabgol Benefits
Home Remedies For Tonsils Stones
Nervous Breakdown Symptoms Causes
Aspergillus Types Causes Symptoms