Drug Information
Resources
Tertiary Resources
Drug Information Resources
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Tertiary Resources
Secondary Resources
Primary Resources
Tertiary Resources
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They include:
Textbooks
 Compendia
 Review articles
 Other general information such as may be found
on the internet
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first-line resources when dealing with a drug
information question.
Tertiary Resources
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Advantages:
Convenience
 Ease of use
 Complete information
 Familiar to most practitioners.
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Tertiary Resources
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Drawbacks:
Lag time (less current information)
 Incomplete information due to space restrictions and
incomplete literature search by the author
 Possible errors in transcription, human bias, incorrect
interpretation of information or lack of expertise by
authors
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readers must judge the quality of tertiary references
Tertiary Resources
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Evaluation of tertiary literature:
Does the author have appropriate expertise to
publish in this area?
 Is the information likely to be timely based on
publication date?
 Is the information supported by appropriate
citations?
 Does the resource contain relevant information and
is free of bias?
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Type of Request
General product
information
Useful Tertiary Sources
Major compendia,
Handbook of Clinical Drug
Data, Handbook of
Nonprescription Drugs,
Clinical Pharmacology
Adverse effects
Meyler's Side Effects of
Drugs, Drug Therapy
Monitoring System, major
compendia
Major compendia: e.g. Facts and Comparisons, AHFS Drug Information, Physicians' Desk
Reference, DRUGDEX®, Drug Information Handbook, and USP DI Volume I.
Type of Request
Useful Tertiary Sources
Availability of dosage forms Red Book, American Drug
Index, major compendia
Compounding
Remington: The Science and Practice of
Pharmacy, Merck Index, A Practical Guide
to Contemporary Pharmacy Practice,
USP/NF, Allen's Compounded
Formulations, Martindale: The Complete
Drug Reference, Extemporaneous
Formulations, Ansel's Pharmaceutical
Dosage Forms and Drug Delivery Systems,
The Art, Science and Technology of
Pharmaceutical Compounding
Type of Request
Dietary supplement
Useful Tertiary Sources
Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database,
Review of Natural Products,
Professional's Handbook of
Complementary and Alternative Medicine,
Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E
Monographs, PDR for Herbal Medicine,
Herbal Medicines: A Guide for Health Care
Professionals, Herb Contraindications and
Drug Interactions, AltMedDex
Adverse Dosage
recommendations (general
and organ impairment)
Major compendia, Drug
Prescribing in Renal Failure
Type of Request
Drug interactions
Useful Tertiary Sources
Hansten and Horn's Drug
Interaction Analysis and
Management, Drug Interaction
Facts, Stockley's Drug Interactions,
DRUG-REAX, major compendia
Drug-laboratory
interference
Basic Skills in Interpreting Laboratory
Data, Laboratory Test Handbook, Clinical
Guide to Laboratory Tests, Laboratory
Tests and Diagnostic Procedures
Type of Request
Drugs in pregnancy and in
lactation
Useful Tertiary Sources
Foreign drug identification
Martindale: The Complete
Drug Reference, Index
Nominum, DRUGDEX®,
European Drug Index,
Internet search engines,
specific country resources
Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation, Drugs
During Pregnancy and Lactation, Drugs for
Pregnant and Lactating Women,
Medications and Mothers' Milk: A Manual
of Lactational Pharmacology,
REPRORISK, major compendia
Type of Request
Geriatric dosage
recommendations
Useful Tertiary Sources
Geriatric Dosage
Handbook, The Merck
Manual of Geriatrics, major
compendia
Identification of product by IDENTIDEX®, Clinical
description of dosage form Pharmacology, Ident-aDrug, Clinical Reference
Library, electronic Facts and
Comparisons
Type of Request
Investigational drug
information
Useful Tertiary Sources
FDA website,
Clinicaltrials.gov,
MedlinePlus, manufacturer
websites
Incompatibility/stability
Handbook of Injectable Drugs,
King Guide to Parenteral
Admixtures, Trissel's Stability of
Compounded Formulations,
Extended Stability for Parenteral
Drugs, Remington: The Science
and Practice of Pharmacy
Type of Request
Method/rate of
administration
Useful Tertiary Sources
Major compendia
Pediatric dosage
recommendations
The Harriet Lane
Handbook, Pediatric
Dosage Handbook, Neofax,
major compendia
Type of Request
Useful Tertiary Sources
Pharmacokinetics
Clinical Pharmacokinetics,
Applied Pharmacokinetics and
Pharmacodynamics: Principles
of Therapeutic Drug
Monitoring, Basic Clinical
Pharmacokinetics, major
compendia*
Pharmacology
Goodman & Gilman's: The
Pharmacological Basis of
Therapeutics, Basic &
Clinical Pharmacology,
Principles of Pharmacology
Type of Request
Pharmacy law
Useful Tertiary Sources
Pharmacy Practice and the
Law, Guide to Federal
Pharmacy Law, State Board
of Pharmacy web pages
Price
Price-Chek PC, Drug
Topics Red Book
Type of Request
Serum or urine therapeutic
levels
Useful Tertiary Sources
Pharmacokinetic texts
above and major compendia
Pharmacotherapy: A
Therapy
evaluation/recommendation Pathophysiologic Approach,
Applied Therapeutics, The
s
Merck Manual, Harrison's
Principles of Internal Medicine,
Cecil's Textbook of Medicine,
Textbook of Therapeutics,
Conn's Current Therapy
Type of Request
Toxicology information
Useful Tertiary Sources
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary Drug Handbook, Textbook of
Veterinary Internal Medicine, Compendia
of Veterinary Products, FDA Center for
Veterinary Medicine, 5-Minute Veterinary
Consult: Canine and Feline
POISINDEX®, Goldfrank's
Toxicologic Emergencies, Casarett &
Doull's Toxicology: The Basic Science
of Poisons, Ellenhorn's Medical
Toxicology: Diagnosis and Treatment
of Human Poisoning, Poisoning &
Toxicology Handbook, Clinical
Management of Drug Overdose,
TOXNET
Tertiary Resources
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AHFS Drug Information:
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists,
http://www.ashp.org
 It contains information on both FDA approved and
off‐labeled uses of medications
 It contains information about dosing in special
populations
 It contains some information about compatibility and
stability of injectables
 It is available as paper text, as intranet and PDA version
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Tertiary Resources
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Drug Information Handbook (DIH):
Lexi-Comp, http://www.lexi.com
 It is organized in brief drug monographs
 Data includes FDA approved and off‐labeled use of
medications
 It has several appendixes providing treatment
options and comparing agents in the same class
 It is also available through CD‐ROM, PDA and
internet
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Tertiary Resources
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Drug Facts and Comparisons:
WolterKluwer Health, Inc.,
http://www.factsandcomparisons.com
 It contains information organized by drug class
 There are comparative monographs of drug classes
to help discern differences between agents of the
same class
 It is available through CD‐ROM, and internet as well
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Tertiary Resources
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Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR)
It is a compilation of product package inserts
 It includes contact information for manufacturers, a
list of poison control centers
 and some limited tablet identification
 It is aslo available through PDA and online
 http://www.pdrhealth.com/drugs/drugsindex.aspx
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Tertiary Resources
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Drugdex® System
This electronic resource is a database within the
MICROMEDEX system
 It contains information about FDA-approved
indications, off-label uses, pharmacokinetic data,
safety information, and pharmacology.
 This resource is available via CD-ROM, PDA, and
the Internet
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Tertiary Resources
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USP DI Volumes I, II, and III
Thomson Healthcare, http://www.thomsonhc.com
 Information from the United States Pharmacopeia (USP)
Drug Information (DI) resources is also included in the
MICROMEDEX Healthcare Series.
 Volume I contains information for the health care
professional, organized into monographs based on
nonproprietary names. Information that is included is
similar to that in other monographs: indications,
pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, safety issues, and
patient counseling points.
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USP DI Volumes I, II, and III cont.
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Volume II contains advice for the lay person and
includes material intended to supplement counseling by
a health care professional
Volume III includes information about therapeutic
equivalence and USP/National Formulary (NF)
requirements for labeling, storing, and packaging drugs.
There is also information about regulations and statutes
impacting pharmacy. The first portion of this volume
of the resource is commonly known as the Orange Book,
and contains the same information that is available
through the FDA via
http://www.fda.gov/cder/ob/default.htm.
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Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs
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This reference, published every 4 years with annual updates
provides a critical review of international literature in the area
of adverse events
Chapters are organized by drug classification; adverse events are
organized by drug name and then by organ system within each
drug
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Allen's Compounded Formulations
American Pharmacists Association,
http://www.aphanet.org.
 This resource is a collection of U.S. Pharmacist columns
that have been printed as a text.
 Each recipe provides method of preparation, stability, and
discussion of utility of the dosage form.
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Extemporaneous Formulations
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists,
http://www.ashp.org
 This resource is a compilation of published recipes with
stability data
 Most products are oral formulations to reflect the unique
needs of some pediatric patients.
 Information is also provided about legal and technical
issues in compounding practices.
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Merck Index
Merck & Co., http://www.merck.com
 This resource provides descriptions of the chemical and
pharmacologic information about a variety of products
 Data include CAS number, chemical structure, molecular
weight, and physical data, including solubility, which may
be especially useful in compounding
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Remington: The Science and Practice of
Pharmacy
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, http://www.lww.com
 This classic text contains information about all aspects of
pharmacy practice
 There is discussion of social issues impacting pharmacy as
well as information about the basics of pharmaceutics,
manufacturing, pharmacodynamics, and medicinal
chemistry.
 Information is provided regarding common compounding
techniques and ingredients
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Drug Prescribing in Renal Failure
American College of Physicians,
http://www.acponline.org
 This resource addresses the changes in pharmacokinetics
that occur as a result of renal impairment, and provides
specific recommendations for dosing adjustment for
medications
 recommendations for dosage modifications for patients
undergoing hemodialysis, chronic ambulatory peritoneal
dialysis, and continuous renal replacement therapy
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Hansten and Horn's Drug Interaction Analysis
and Management
This resource provides summaries of, mechanism of, and
management options for reported drug interactions
 The authors also provide information regarding severity
of interaction and any risk factors that might predispose
patients to this event
 This loose-leaf reference, which is updated quarterly,
provides rapid information regarding severity and
likelihood of an interaction and actions needed to
minimize this risk based on the case studies and primary
literature available.
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Drug Interaction Facts
This resource provides information about drug-drug or
drug-food interactions
 Discussions of significance of the interaction as well as
suggestions for management are included
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Drug-REAX
This electronic resource is a database within the
MICROMEDEX system.
 Information is provided about drug-drug, drug-food, and
drug-supplement interactions
 Discussion is provided regarding severity, management,
and literature about the interaction
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Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference
Pharmaceutical Press, http://www.pharmpress.com
 This resource includes information on a variety of
domestic and international drugs
 Proprietary names and manufacturer contact information
are available for a variety of countries
 This information is available in hardcopy, CD-ROM, via
online subscription, and is also included in some
MICROMEDEX Healthcare Series packages
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Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins,
http://www.lww.com
focuses exclusively on information available
about the use of medications in pregnant or
lactating women
Lab session
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Use Micromedex system to give your
recommendations concerning these questions:
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Can I drink grapefruit juice if I’m taking
atorvastatin?
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Can Ibuprofen be used for pregnant women?