Dipyridamole,what is the true purpose of this drug?!

Nurses Medications

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I'm really confused about the properties and uses of this drug.I'm seeing a pt who has osteoarthritis,unctontrolled diabetes with neuropathy,HTN-is on amlodipine,captopril and also dipyridamole,also has CHF and hypercholesteremia....So far I know that dipyridamole causes vasodilation,also that it has an anticoagulant properties...I know that there is also a combination of this drug-dipyridamole/aspirin that is used as an antiplatelet (Aggrenox),does the pure dipyridamole (without aspirin) also have an anti-clotting effects? Why is it used for people with hypertension;maybe to decrease their blood pressure or prevent stroke or both? Lastly,my patients recently ended up in the hospital,she bottomed out,she felt very dizzy,I dont think it was the hypoglycemia although she takes glyburide 1/2 tab twice a day-she has fair apetite.I think that the blood pressure meds have bottom her out-she is like I mentioned before on 2 blood pressure meds plus dipyridamole,she is 85 years old woman weighting only 130 pounds.I have a feeling that the doctor gave her too much drugs-but I'm not experienced enough to make this call..this is only my suspicion.Anyway now her son is freaking out and I'm planning to give him teaching how to react if his mom stars feeling dizzy and is semi-conscious.I'm planning to instruct him that in the case his mom experience diziness to lie her down on the bed,put cushions under her calfs so the legs will be higher than her heart,check if her skin is cool and clammy,call 911,also I have to teach her abot dipyridamole,any suggestions,thanks.

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Specializes in PeriOperative.

Your first place to check when you are unsure of a drug should always be a current nurse's drug guide, not an anonymous internet forum. AllNurses is a great site, but when it comes to patient safety, we can't guarantee that the information on here is correct or current.

Your next resource (if the drug guide does not answer all of your questions) is your preceptor. You are very new at your job, so I assume you are still working under a preceptor or very closely with her. If you do not have a preceptor, ask an experienced nurse in the agency.

If you still have questions and concerns, call the doctor. S/he prescribed the drug and can explain why.

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Your first place to check when you are unsure of a drug should always be a current nurse's drug guide, not an anonymous internet forum. AllNurses is a great site, but when it comes to patient safety, we can't guarantee that the information on here is correct or current.

Your next resource (if the drug guide does not answer all of your questions) is your preceptor. You are very new at your job, so I assume you are still working under a preceptor or very closely with her. If you do not have a preceptor, ask an experienced nurse in the agency.

If you still have questions and concerns, call the doctor. S/he prescribed the drug and can explain why.

Yeah I arleady did check with my drug book-I have not admitted this patient,she was given to me.I also read in the drug book that this drug is commonly prescribed for angina ( I will ask my patient if she experiences chest pain,I'm surprised her doc did not ordered her nitroglycerin as PRN I will have to ask him for an order maybe?) Also it sounds like dipyridamole given in HIGH doses can cause vasodilation for a short period of time (I guess in critical situations I would assume-her regular dose is 50 mg,so it appears that she it taking in chronically for CHEST PAIN-but some older people deny having chest pain,you have to dig very deep to extract those kind of information from them:)

I asked on this forum for supplemental knowledge since there are plenty of experienced nurses on here. Thanks.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

another good resource is pharmacy... call them up they will be able to tell you all about it :)

And i agree, allnurses is great for supplemental knowledge :)

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Try reposting on Med Savy Forum on this site as it deals specifically with Pharm issues--here is the link

https://allnurses.com/med-savvy/

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
Yeah I arleady did check with my drug book-I have not admitted this patient,she was given to me.I also read in the drug book that this drug is commonly prescribed for angina ( I will ask my patient if she experiences chest pain,I'm surprised her doc did not ordered her nitroglycerin as PRN I will have to ask him for an order maybe?) Also it sounds like dipyridamole given in HIGH doses can cause vasodilation for a short period of time (I guess in critical situations I would assume-her regular dose is 50 mg,so it appears that she it taking in chronically for CHEST PAIN-but some older people deny having chest pain,you have to dig very deep to extract those kind of information from them:)

I asked on this forum for supplemental knowledge since there are plenty of experienced nurses on here. Thanks.

But seriously...if you are (in the future) required to defend your nursing action/inaction, would you be willing to say that you based your actions on an online nursing forum?

Use definitive sources. Sources that will stand up to scrutiny. So far as I know, online forums do not meet that criteria.

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

[color=#1111cc]persantine (dipyridamole) drug information: uses, side effects ...

apr 18, 2008 ... mechanism of action.

dipyridamole inhibits the uptake of adenosine into platelets, endothelial cells and erythrocytes in vitro and in vivo; the inhibition occurs in a dose-dependent manner at therapeutic concentrations (0.5-1.9 µg/ml). this inhibition results in an increase in local concentrations of adenosine which acts on the platelet a2-receptor thereby stimulating platelet adenylate cyclase and increasing platelet cyclic-3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (camp) levels. via this mechanism, platelet aggregation is inhibited in response to various stimuli such as platelet activating factor (paf), collagen and adenosine diphosphate (adp).

dipyridamole inhibits phosphodiesterase (pde) in various tissues. while the inhibition of camp-pde is weak, therapeutic levels of dipyridamole inhibit cyclic-3',5'-guanosine monophosphate-pde (cgmp-pde), thereby augmenting the increase in cgmp produced by edrf (endothelium-derived relaxing factor, now identified as nitric oxide).

hemodynamics

in dogs intraduodenal doses of dipyridamole of 0.5 to 4.0 mg/kg produced dose-related decreases in systemic and coronary vascular resistance leading to decreases in systemic blood pressure and increases in coronary blood flow. onset of action was in about 24 minutes and effects persisted for about 3 hours.

similar effects were observed following iv persantine in doses ranging from 0.025 to 2.0 mg/kg.

in man the same qualitative hemodynamic effects have been observed. however, acute intravenous administration of persantine may worsen regional myocardial perfusion distal to partial occlusion of coronary arteries.

pharmacokinetics and metabolism

following an oral dose of persantine tablets, the average time to peak concentration is about 75 minutes. the decline in plasma concentration following a dose of persantine tablets fits a two-compartment model. the alpha half-life (the initial decline following peak concentration) is approximately 40 minutes. the beta half-life (the terminal decline in plasma concentration) is approximately 10 hours. dipyridamole is highly bound to plasma proteins. it is metabolized in the liver where it is conjugated as a glucuronide and excreted with the bile.

last updated on rxlist: 4/18/2008

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But seriously...if you are (in the future) required to defend your nursing action/inaction, would you be willing to say that you based your actions on an online nursing forum?

Use definitive sources. Sources that will stand up to scrutiny. So far as I know, online forums do not meet that criteria.

While you shouldn't rely on an online nursing forum as the definitive source for an action, websites such as AN can help you to seek out the sources you need and know what questions to ask when you find them.

Using the internet isn't an all-or-nothing proposition. You can use this as a starting point to get you going in the right direction. Brainstorming ideas can lead to finding the most accurate, up-to-date information in a way that would be nearly impossible to do on your own.

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