2. Pakistan Pharma Career Door
Online Course on
Introduction to Pharmaceutical Dosage Form
Lecture # 04
Routes of Administration
3. Facilitator
Debarati Roy is student of Bachelors of Pharmacy final
year from B.C.D.A college of Pharmacy & Technology,
affiliated to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of
Technology, West Bengal(Makaut WB). She is energetic
and talented girl. Her participation as facilitator showing
interest of Neighbor country in development of Pharmacy
Profession. Team PPCD is very much thankful to her for
her efforts. We wish her good luck for her future.
5. Routes Of Administration
Definition:
A route of administration is the path
by which a drug, fluid, poison or other
substance is brought into contact with
the body.
7. Factors Governing Choice of
Route
•Physical and chemical properties of the
drug
•Site of desired action
•Rate and extent of drug absorption
•Effect of digestion and first pass metabolism
•Rapidity of response desired
•Accuracy of dosage required
•Condition Of patient
8. Forms Of Medication
Medications are available in a variety of
forms and preparations
The form of the medication will
determine its route of administration
Composition of medicine is designed to
enhance its absorption & metabolism
Many medications are available in
several forms
10. Preparing for Drug
Administration
•Check the “10 rights”
•Standard Precautions: Wash your
hands!
•Double-check if unsure about anything
•Check for drug allergies
•Prepare drugs for one patient at a time
•Check three times
11. Preparing for Drug
Administration (cont'd)
•Check expiration dates
•Check the patient’s identification
•Give medications on time
•Explain medications to the patient
•Open the medications at the bedside
•Document the medications given before
going to the next patient
12. Routes of
Administration
•A drug’s route of administration affects the
rate and extent of absorption of that drug.
•Route can be broadly divided
into:
–Enteral (GI tract)
–Parenteral
–Local(topical)
14. Oral Route
Oral refers to
two methods of administration:
applying topically to the mouth
swallowing for absorption along the
gastrointestinal (GI) tract into systemic
circulation
po (from the Latin per os) is the abbreviation used
to indicate oral route of medication administration
15. Oral Route
ADVANTAGES
• Safe
• Convenient
• Economical
• Can be self
administered
• Painless
DISADVANTAGES
•Slow absorption
Slow action
•Irritable and
unpalatable drugs
•Un co-operative and
unconscious patients
•Some drugs
destroyed
•First-pass effect
16. First pass effect:
- The first pass effect is the term used for the hepatic
metabolism of a pharmacological agent when it is
absorbed from the gut and delivered to the liver via the
portal circulation.
- The greater the first pass effect, the lower the
bioavailability of the drug(the rate and extent of the
drug reaching systemic circulation).
21. SUBLINGUAL ROUTE
ADVANTAGES
•Economical
•Drug absorption is
quick
•First-pass avoided
•Quick termination-Spit
off
•Can be self
administered
DISADVANTAGES
•Unpalatable & bitter
drugs
•Irritation of oral
mucosa
•Large quantities not
given
22. RECTAL ROUTE
ADVANTAGES
Used in children
Little or no first pass effect
(ext haemorrhoidal vein)
Used in vomiting or
unconscious
Higher concentrations rapidly
achieved(ex-Dulco
DISADVANTAGES
Inconvenient
Absorption is slow and
erratic
Irritation or inflammation of
rectal mucosa can occur
- Drugs that are administered rectally as a suppository.
- In this form, a drug is mixed with a waxy substance that
dissolves or liquefies after it is inserted into the rectum.
- ex- Diazepam, indomethacin(suppo), paraldehyde.
25. SYSTEMIC-PARENTERAL
Parenteral administration is injection
or infusion by means of a needle or
catheter inserted into the body
The term parenteral comes from
Greek words
para, meaning outside
enteron, meaning the intestine
This route of administration bypasses
the alimentary canal
30. Intravenous
ADVANTAGES
BIOAVAILABILITY 100%
DESIRED BLOOD
CONCENTRATIONS ACHIEVED
LARGE QUANTITIES
VOMITING & DIARRHEA
EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
FIRST PASS AVOIDED
GASTRIC MANUPALATION
AVOIDED
DISADVANTAGES
IRRITATION & CELLULITIS
THROMBOPHELEBITIS
REPEATED INJECTIONS NOT
ALWAYS FEASIBLE
LESS SAFE
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
REQUIRED
DANGER OF INFECTION
EXPENSIVE
LESS CONVENIENT AND
PAINFUL
30
31. Intravenous
ADMINISRATION OF IV FLUIDS:
Maintain strict asepsis
Port of iv line flushed with saline before infusion
Watch for sign of extravascation
Make sure that there are no air bubbles
Carry a sterile container to place components while iv
cannulisation
32. Injecting medication into large skeletal muscle
deltoid, gluteus or rectus femoris
Intramuscular
SITES OF INTRAMUSCULAR INJECTIONS
– Ventrogluteal site (preferred)
– Vastus lateralis site
– Dorsogluteal site
– Deltoid site
33. Intramuscular
Advantages
suitable for injection of drug in aqueous solution
(rapid action) and drug in suspension or emulsion
(sustained release).
Disadvantages
Pain at injection sites for certain drugs.
34.
35. Subcutaneous Injections
Drug is injected under the skin
e.g. insulin.
Sites of Subcutaneous injection:
Gluteal
Thigh
Shoulder
Back…
36. Subcutaneous
Drug can be administered subcutaneously as ;
1, dermojet
2, pellet implantation
3, sialistic implants
37. INTRA-ARTERIAL
Rarely used
Anticancer drugs are given for localized effects
Drugs used for diagnosis of peripheral vascular diseases
38. INTRA-ARTICULAR
injections of antibiotics and
corticosteroids are
administered in inflammed
joined cavities by experts.
example: hydrocortisone in
rheumatoid arthritis
39. INTRADERMAL
drug is given within skin layers
(dermis)
Painful
Mainly used for testing sensitivity
to drugs.
e.g. penicillin, ATS (anti tetanus
serum)
INOCULATION :administration of
vaccine (like small pox vaccine )
40. Transdermal patches
Highly lipid soluble drug can
be applied over skin for slow
and prolonged absorption
Eg, nitroglycerine ointment in
angina pectoris
• Administering medications to
the skin
– Lotions, creams, ointments,
powders
– Transdermal patches
41. Inhalation route
Advantages
A- Large surface area
B- thin membranes separate
alveoli from circulation
C- high blood flow
-As result of that a rapid
onset of action due to rapid
access to circulation
Disadvantages
1- Most addictive route of
administration because it
hits the brain so quickly.
2- Difficulties in regulating
the exact amount of dosage.
3- Sometimes patient having
difficulties in giving
themselves a drug by
inhaler
42. Topical Routes of Administration
Topical administration is the application of a drug
directly to the surface of the skin
Includes administration of drugs to any mucous
membrane
eye – vagina
nose – urethra
ears – colon
lungs
43. Topical Dosage Forms
Dose forms for topical administration include:
Skin:
creams
ointments
lotions
gels
transdermal patches
disks
• Eye or ear:
– solutions
– suspensions
– ointments
• Nose and lungs:
– sprays and powders
44. Advantages and Disadvantages of the
Topical Route
Local therapeutic effects
Not well absorbed into the deeper layers of the skin or
mucous membrane
lower risk of side effects
Transdermal route offers steady level of drug in the
system
sprays for inhalation through the nose
may be for local or systemic effects
45. Intranasal
This route involves administration of drugs directly into the
nose. Agents include nasal decongestants such as the anti-
inflammatory corticosteroid.
Desmopressin is administered intranasally in the treatment
of diabetes insipidus; salmon calcitonin, a peptide hormone
used in the treatment of osteoporosis, is also available as a
nasal spray.
The abused drug, cocaine, is generally taken by intranasal
sniffing
Eye drops
49. SELECTION OF ROUTE
The ROA is determined by :
the physical characteristics of the drug
the speed which the drug is absorbed
and/ or released
the need to bypass hepatic metabolism
to achieve high conc. at particular sites
Accuracy of dosage
Condition of the patient
