📝 OCaPE: Pharm #2
Aspirin Pharm

Difficulty
3/5

Following his STEMI, Greef Karga is prescribed Aspirin for his heart.

 

Discuss this case with Cara, a student nurse who has some questions about Aspirin

5 minutes

Q1)

Hi there, I was wondering what class of drug Aspirin is?

NSAID (2)

Thank you! I was wondering, what is the target enzyme of aspirin please?

COX (cyclooxygenase) (2)

I’ve heard aspirin can damage the stomach. What are three ways that the stomach can be damaged with asprin? 

  • Bleeding
  • Ulceration
  • Erosion of gastric lining/mucosa

What mode of elimination does aspirin show at high concentrations, is it a zero order or first order kinetic? 

Zero Order

Could you explain what zero order means?

  • Rate of elimination is independent from the concentration of drug in plasma
  • An equal amount of drug is eliminated per unit time

I’ve learnt that drugs normally show zero order kinetics at high concentrations. Why is this the case?

Transport proteins are saturated [1 mark]

For Greef Karga, we used aspirin as an anti-coagulant. Are there any other uses of aspirin?

  • Anti-inflammatory drug
  • Analgesic (reduces pain)
  • Antipyretic drug (reduces fever)

How is aspirin different to other NSAIDS like ibruprofen for example?

Aspirin is an irreversable COX inhibitor, whereas all the other NSAIDs are reversible

Similar resources: