Table Of ContentTIPS FOR SAFE PRESCRIPTION WRITING**
1. Take time to write legibly.
2. Print if this would be more legible than handwriting.
3. Use a typewriter or computer if necessary. Prescriptions generated by computer-
based electronic medical records will eliminate legibility problems.
4. Carefully print the order to avoid misreading. There are many “sound alike”
drugs and medications that have similar spellings (ie, Celexa and Celebrex). For
a more extensive list, see www.edrugbook.com.
5. Do not use these clinical abbreviations
The Correct Way Do Not Use Problem
daily qd M isinterpreted as “qid”
(resulting in 4-fold overdose)
q other day or qod Misinterpreted as “qid” or “qd”
q48 hours
units u or U M isinterpreted as a “0”
(resulting in a 10-fold
overdose)
1 mg 1.0 mg Decimal point can be missed
(no trailing zero) o n order (resulting in a
10-fold overdose)
0.1 mg .1 mg Decimal point can be missed
(use a leading zero) o n order (resulting in a
10-fold overdose)
international units IU Misinterpreted as “IV”
morphine MS, MSO4 Misinterpreted as magnesium
sulfate
magnesium sulfate MgSO4 M isinterpreted as morphine
sulfate
**Adapted with permission from Gomella LG, Haist SA, eds. Clinician’s Pocket
Reference 11th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2007. Based on recom-
mendations for the use of abbreviations from the National Summit on Medical
Abbreviations hosted by The Joint Commission.
NURSE’S
POCKET DRUG
GUIDE 2015
EDITORs
Judith A. Barberio, PhD, APN, C, ANP, FNP, GNP
Leonard G. Gomella, MD, FACS
Susan Underwood, RN, MSN, RD, MS
Claudia A. Beck, PhD, ANP-BC
New York Chicago San Francisco Athens
London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi
Singapore Sydney Toronto
Copyright © 2015 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976,
no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system,
without the prior written permission of the publisher, with the exception that the program listings may be entered, stored, and executed
in a computer system, but they may not be reproduced for publication.
ISBN: 978-0-07-183519-0
MHID: 0-07-183519-9
The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-183518-3,
MHID: 0-07-183518-0.
eBook conversion by codeMantra
Version 1.0
All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked
name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the
trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.
McGraw-Hill Education eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions or for use in
corporate training programs. To contact a representative, please visit the Contact Us page at www.mhprofessional.com.
Notice
Medicine is an ever-changing science. As new research and clinical experience broaden our knowledge, changes in treatment and drug
therapy are required. The authors and the publisher of this work have checked with sources believed to be reliable in their efforts to
provide information that is complete and generally in accord with the standards accepted at the time of publication. However, in view
of the possibility of human error or changes in medical sciences, neither the authors nor the publisher nor any other party who has been
involved in the preparation or publication of this work warrants that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or
complete, and they disclaim all responsibility for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from use of the information
contained in this work. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information contained herein with other sources. For example and in
particular, readers are advised to check the product information sheet included in the package of each drug they plan to administer to
be certain that the information contained in this work is accurate and that changes have not been made in the recommended dose or
in the contraindications for administration. This recommendation is of particular importance in connection with new or infrequently
used drugs.
TERMS OF USE
This is a copyrighted work and McGraw-Hill Education and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this work is subject
to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and retrieve one copy of the work, you may
not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate,
sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hill Education’s prior consent. You may use the work for your
own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated if
you fail to comply with these terms.
THE WORK IS PROVIDED “AS IS.” McGRAW-HILL EDUCATION AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES
OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED
FROM USING THE WORK, INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA
HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
McGraw-Hill Education and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your
requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill Education nor its licensors shall be liable
to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom.
McGraw-Hill Education has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances
shall McGraw-Hill Education and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar
damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise.
CONTENTS
EDITORS V
PREFACE VII
MEDICATION KEY IX
ABBREVIATIONS XII
CLASSIFICATION 1
Allergy 1
Antidotes 1
Antimicrobial Agents 2
Antifungals 4
Antiretrovirals 4
Antineoplastic Agents 5
Cardiovascular (CV) Agents 8
Central Nervous system Agents 11
Dermatologic Agents 14
Dietary supplements 16
Ear (Otic) Agents 16
Endocrine system Agents 17
Eye (Ophthalmic) Agents 19
Gastrointestinal (GI) Agents 20
Hematologic Agents 23
Immune system Agents 24
Musculoskeletal Agents 26
OB/GYN Agents 27
Pain Medications 29
Respiratory Agents 31
Urinary/Genitourinary Agents 33
Vaccines/serums/Toxoids 34
Wound Care 35
Miscellaneous Therapeutic Agents 35
Natural & Herbal Agents 36
iii
iv Contents
GENERIC AND SELECTED BRAND DRUG DATA 37
COMMONLY USED NATURAL AND HERBAL AGENTS 417
TABLES 433
Table 1 Local Anesthetic Comparison Chart for 434
Commonly Used Injectable Agents
Table 2 Comparison of systemic steroids 435
Table 3 Topical steroid Preparations 436
Table 4 Comparison of Insulins 438
Table 5 Oral Contraceptives 441
Table 6 Oral Potassium supplements 451
Table 7 Tetanus Prophylaxis 452
Table 8 Oral Anticoagulant standards of Practice 453
Table 9 Antiarrhythmics: Vaughn Williams Classification 455
Table 10 Cytochrome P-450 Isoenzymes and
Common Drugs They Metabolize, Inhibit, and Induce 456
Table 11 ssRIs/sNRIs/Triptan and serotonin syndrome 458
Table 12 selected Multivitamin supplements 459
Table 13 Influenza Vaccine strains for 2014–2015 462
INDEX 463
EDITORS
Judith A. Barberio, PhD, APN, C, ANP, FNP, GNP
Assistant Clinical Professor
Speciality Director: Adult/Geriatric Nurse Practitioner Track
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
College of Nursing
Newark, New Jersey
Leonard G. Gomella, MD, FACS
The Bernard W. Godwin, Jr., Professor
Chairman, Department of Urology
Jefferson Medical College
Associate Director of Clinical Affairs
Kimmel Cancer Center
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Susan Underwood, RN, MSN, RD, MS
Adjunct, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health
New York University
New York, New York
Claudia A. Beck, PhD, ANP-BC
v
This page intentionally left blank
PREFACE
We are pleased to present the ninth 2015 edition of the Nurse’s Pocket Drug
Guide. The goal is to identify the most frequently used and clinically important
medications, including branded, generic, and OTC products. The book includes
over 1200 generic medications and is designed to represent a cross-section of com-
monly used products in healthcare practices across the country.
The style of drug presentation includes key “must know” facts of commonly
used medications and herbs, essential information for the student, practicing nurse,
and healthcare provider. The inclusion of common uses of medications rather than
just the official FDA-labeled indications is based on the uses of the medication and
herbs supported by publications and community standards of care. All uses have
been reviewed by our editorial board.
It is essential that students, registered nurses, and advanced-practice nurses
learn more than the name and dose of the medications they administer and pre-
scribe. Certain common side effects and significant warnings and contraindications
are associated with prescription medications and herbs. Although nurses and other
healthcare providers should ideally be completely familiar with the entire package
insert of any medication prescribed, such a requirement is unreasonable. Refer-
ences such as the Physicians’ Desk Reference and the drug manufacturers’ Web
sites make package inserts readily available for many medications, but may not
highlight clinically significant facts or key data for generic drugs and those avail-
able over the counter.
The limitations of difficult-to-read package inserts were acknowledged by the
Food and Drug Administration in early 2001, when it noted that healthcare provid-
ers do not have time to read the many pages of small print in the typical package
insert. Newer drugs are producing more user-friendly package insert summaries
that highlight important drug information for easier nursing reference. Although
useful, these summaries do not commingle with similarly approved generic or
“competing” similar products.
The editorial board has analyzed the information on both brand and generic
medications and has made this key prescribing information available in this
pocket-sized book. Information in this book is meant for use by healthcare profes-
sionals who are familiar with these commonly prescribed medications and herbs.
This 2015 edition has been completely reviewed and updated by our editorial
board. Over 110 new drugs and herbs have been added, and dozens of changes in
other medications based on FDA actions have been incorporated, including dele-
tions of discontinued brand names and compounds.
vii
viii Preface
Where appropriate, emergency cardiac care (ECC) guidelines are provided
based on the latest recommendations for the American Heart Association (Circu-
lation, Volume 112, Issue 24 Supplement; December 13, 2005 and Volume 122,
Issue 25; December 2010), with the ECC emergency medication summary at the
back of the book for rapid reference. Editions of this book are also available in a
variety of electronic or eBook formats. Visit www.eDrugbook.com for a link to the
electronic versions currently available. Additionally, this Web site has enhanced
content features such as a comprehensive listing of “look alike–sound alike” medi-
cations that can contribute to prescribing errors.
