Review On Drug Interactions in Neurosurgical Patients

Author(s): Gillella Praneeth and Sridhar Babu Gummadi

Abstract: A drug interaction is a change in the action or side effects of a drug caused by concomitant administration with a food, beverage, supplement, or another drug a cause of a drug interaction involves one drug which alters the pharmacokinetics of another medical drug. Alternatively, drug interactions result from competition for a single receptor or signaling pathway. Both synergy and antagonism occur during different phases of the interaction between a drug and an organism. For example, when synergy occurs at a cellular receptor level this is termed agonism, and the substances involved are termed agonists. On the other hand, in the case of antagonism, the substances involved are known as inverse agonists. The risk of a drug-drug interaction increases with the number of drugs used. Over a third (36%) of the elderly in the U.S. regularly uses five or more medications or supplements, and 15% are at risk of a significant drug-drug interaction.

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