ATI PHARMACOLOGY PROCTORED STUDY GUIDE 2022 - (Drug Administration)

DRUG ABSORPTION, DISTRIBUTION AND ELIMINATION; PHARMACOKINETICS I. DRUG ADMINISTRATION Often the goal is to attain a therapeutic drug concentration in plasma from which drug enters the tissue (therapeutic window between toxic concentration and minimal effective concentration). A. Enteral Routes 1. Sublingual (buccal) Certain drugs are best given beneath the tongue or retained in the cheek pouch and are absorbed from these regions into the local circulation. These vascular areas are ideal for lipid-soluble drugs that would be metabolized in the gut or liver, since the blood vessels in the mouth bypass the liver (do not undergo first pass liver metabolism), and drain directly into the systemic circulation. This route is usually reserved for nitrates and certain hormones.