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Pharmacology for Nurses

Key Terms

Pharmacology for NursesKey Terms
activated clotting time (ACT)
a way to measure the time it takes to form a clot; available as a point-of-care test
anti-factor Xa level (anti-Xa)
measurement of the concentration of drugs that inhibit factor Xa in the clotting cascade
anticoagulants
drugs that work in different parts of the coagulation cascade to decrease the propensity of the blood to form a clot
clotting factors
proteins that work to activate different parts of the coagulation cascade
coagulation cascade
series of events that leads to blood clotting
complete blood count
laboratory blood test that measures the amount of red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets
deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
blood clot that forms in a vein
erythrocytes
red blood cells
fibrinolysis
breakdown of fibrin
hematocrit
percentage or proportion of red blood cells in the blood
hemoglobin
substance that binds oxygen and facilitates oxygen transport in the blood
hemostasis
the ability to cease bleeding
heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT)
major complication of heparin therapy characterized by a decrease in platelets and concomitant hypercoagulable state
hypercoagulable
excessive propensity to form a clot
international normalized ratio
provides another measurement of the length of time the blood takes to clot, calculated using the prothrombin time (PT)
ischemic stroke
when a clot obstructs blood flow to the brain
partial thromboplastin time (PTT)
laboratory test obtained via venous blood sample that provides a measurement of the length of time the blood takes to clot
platelets
component of the blood that bind together and to endothelial tissue to form a clot
prothrombin time (PT)
a measurement of the time it takes to form a clot; used to calculate the international normalized ratio (INR)
pulmonary embolism (PE)
a clot that has typically formed in a vein but has broken off and lodged in the vasculature of the lungs
thrombolytics
drugs that dissolve existing clots
thrombosis
the formation of a clot that obstructs blood flow
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