Drug Recognition Guide.
As a student nurse it can be difficult getting to know particular drugs and
distinguishing between the various drug categories that you may be asked (under
supervision) to administer. This is a quick reference guide that can make it easier
to recognise and remember drug names. Note: this is for general guidance only - it is
not intended as a ‘‘fool proof’’ way to identify each and every drug in each and
every drug category. Remember that there will always be exceptions to the rule.
Nevertheless, the guide will be very useful while you are getting to know your drugs
more thoroughly.
The drug names used in this guide refer to the drug’s generic name as listed on the
prescription sheet (and not to the drug’s ‘‘brand name’’). The colour coding used in
this guide is for ease of recognition purposes only and has no clinical significance.
The guide lists more than 130 drugs subdivided into 17 different categories.
One relatively easy way that can be used to help identify what group a particular drug
belongs to is to look at the letters at the beginning (the prefix) or, more commonly, at
the end (the suffix) of a generic drug’s name. For example…
ACE Inhibitors
(drugs used to treat hypertension, heart failure,
diabetic nephropathy or to reduce the likelihood of myocardial infarction).
ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors can be recognised by names
that end with the letters ‘‘pril’’: -
Captopril
Cilazapril
Enalapril
Fosinopril
Lisinopril
Moexipril
Perindopril
Quinapril
Ramipril
Trandolapril
Alpha-blockers
(drugs used to treat hypertension or urinary
obstruction due to benign prostatic hyperplasia). Most (but not all) alphablockers have names ending in ‘‘osin’’: -
Alfuzosin
Doxazosin
Prazosin
Tamsulosin
Terazosin
Note three exceptions: three alpha-blockers that do not end in ‘‘osin’’: -
Indoramin
Phenoxybenzamine
Phentolamine
This guide is intended for information purposes only and not as an aid to unsupervised
drug administration by nursing students [MFCurrivan/WirralRenalUnit/2011].
1
Drug Recognition Guide.
Angiotensin-II Receptor Antagonists (drugs used to treat
hypertension, heart failure or diabetic nephropathy) end with ‘‘sartan’’: -
Candesartan
Irbesartan
Losartan
Telmisartan
Valsartan
Antibiotics (drugs used to treat bacterial infections: with different kinds
of antibiotic used to treat particular kinds of bacteria).
Many antibiotics (including most antibiotics of the aminoglycoside, macrolide
and glycopeptide class) have names ending in ‘‘cin’’. More specifically:
antibiotics of the quinolone class end with ‘‘floxacin’’; penicillins can be
identified by the suffix ‘‘cillin’’; antibiotics of the cephalosporin class have
names beginning with ‘‘cef’’; carbapenem antibiotics end with ‘‘penem’’;
tetracycline antibiotics end with ‘‘cycline’’ and rifamycin antibiotics have
names beginning with ‘‘rif’’. For example: -
Amikacin
Amoxicillin
Ampicillin
Cefalexin
Ceftazidime
Ceftriaxone
Ciprofloxacin
Clarithromycin
Doripenem
Doxycycline
Erythromycin
Flucloxacillin
Gentamicin
Imipenem (given with the enzyme inhibitor cilastatin).
Levofloxacin
Lymecycline
Meropenem
Penicillin
Rifabutin
Rifampicin
Tigecycline
Vancomycin
Note a few exceptions: despite ending in ‘‘cin’’ do not mistake acemetacin
and indometacin (NSAIDs), darifenacin and solifenacin (antimuscarinic
drugs) or oxytocin (a drug used in obstetrics) for antibiotics.
This guide is intended for information purposes only and not as an aid to unsupervised
drug administration by nursing students [MFCurrivan/WirralRenalUnit/2011].
2
Drug Recognition Guide.
Benzodiazepines (sedatives given to treat insomnia, reduce anxiety
or to prevent or treat seizures). Most benzodiazepines have names ending
with either ‘‘azepam’’ or ‘‘azolam’’: -
Alprazolam
Clonazepam
Diazepam
Flurazepam
Loprazolam
Lorazepam
Lormetazepam
Midazolam
Nitrazepam
Oxazepam
Temazepam
Note an important benzodiazepine with a different suffix: -
Chlordiazepoxide (a benzodiazepine often used to help manage
the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal).
Beta-blockers
(drugs used to treat conditions such as hypertension,
angina, heart failure or cardiac arrhythmia) end with ‘‘lol’’ or ‘‘olol’’: -
Atenolol
Bisoprolol
Esmolol
Metoprolol
Nebivolol
Propranolol
Sotalol
Beta-blockers ending in ‘‘lol’’ should not to be mistaken for drugs that end
with ‘‘amol’’. A drug name ending in ‘‘amol’’ is often an indication that it
contains paracetamol as a constituent part (see paracetamols, page 5).
Bisphosphonates
(drugs used to treat osteoporosis or
hypercalcaemia: abnormally high levels of calcium in the blood). The drug
inhibits bone re-absorption and so helps preserve bone density and prevent
the release of excess calcium into the bloodstream. Bisphosphonates have
names that end with ‘‘dronate’’ or ‘‘dronic acid’’: -
Alendronic acid
Clodronate
Pamidronate
Risedronate
Zoledronic acid
This guide is intended for information purposes only and not as an aid to unsupervised
drug administration by nursing students [MFCurrivan/WirralRenalUnit/2011].
3
Drug Recognition Guide.
Class II Calcium Channel Blockers
(drugs used to treat
hypertension or angina) have names ending in ‘‘dipine’’: -
Amlodipine
Felodipine
Isradipine
Lacidipine
Nicardipine
Nifedipine
Corticosteroids
(drugs given to reduce inflammation or to treat
allergic, asthmatic or rheumatic disorders). Most corticosteroids have names
ending in ‘‘sone’’, ‘‘solone’’, ‘‘olone’’ or ‘‘sonide’’: -
Beclometasone
Betamethasone
Budesonide
Ciclesonide
Dexamethasone
Diflucortolone
Fludrocortisone
Flumetasone
Fluticasone
Hydrocortisone
Methylprednisolone
Mometasone
Prednisolone
5HT3 Antagonists
(antiemetics used to treat severe nausea and
vomiting) end with ‘‘setron’’: -
Dolasetron
Granisetron
Ondansetron
Palonosetron
H2 Blockers
(drugs used to treat oesophageal reflux, dyspepsia and
gastric ulcers) end with the suffix ‘‘tidine’’: -
Cimetidine
Famotidine
Nizatidine
Ranitidine
Note an exception to the rule: a drug with a name ending in ‘‘tidine’’ that is
not a H2 blocker: azacitidine (a chemotherapy drug).
This guide is intended for information purposes only and not as an aid to unsupervised
drug administration by nursing students [MFCurrivan/WirralRenalUnit/2011].
4
Drug Recognition Guide.
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)
(anti-inflammatory painkillers that work by reducing prostaglandin levels).
Many NSAIDs are derived from acetic acid, fenamic acid or propionic acid
and so tend to have names that end with ‘‘ac’’, ‘‘fenac’’ or ‘‘profen’’: -
Aceclofenac
Dexibuprofen
Dexketoprofen
Diclofenac
Etodolac
Fenbufen
Fenoprofen
Flurbiprofen
Ibuprofen
Ketoprofen
Ketorolac
Paracetamol
(a painkiller that also has an antipyretic effect).
Paracetamol-containing compounds end with ‘‘amol’’. The prefix ‘‘co-’’ at
the beginning of drug name is an indication that it is a mixture or compound
of two different drugs combined. For example: -
Co-codamol
Co-dydramol
=
=
(codeine & paracetamol).
(dihydrocodeine & paracetamol).
Note an exception to the rule: salbutamol (a beta2 agonist bronchodilator
used to relieve breathlessness, which - despite ending in ‘‘amol’’ - should not
be mistaken for a paracetamol-containing compound).
Phenothiazines (antipsychotic drugs developed in the 1950s to treat
schizophrenia but some of which are now also used as antiemetics: drugs to
treat nausea and vomiting) end with either ‘‘promazine’’ or ‘‘perazine’’: -
Chlorpromazine
Levomepromazine
Prochlorperazine
Trifluoperazine
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) (drugs used to prevent or treat
gastric or duodenal ulcers) have names ending in ‘‘prazole’’: -
Esomeprazole
Lansoprazole
Omeprazole
Pantoprazole
Rabeprazole
An exception to the rule - a drug ending in ‘‘prazole’’ that is not a PPI:
aripiprazole (an antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia).
This guide is intended for information purposes only and not as an aid to unsupervised
drug administration by nursing students [MFCurrivan/WirralRenalUnit/2011].
5
Drug Recognition Guide.
Statins
(hypolipidaemic agents: drugs used to lower abnormally high
levels of cholesterol in the blood). Statins end with the suffix ‘‘vastatin’’: -
Atorvastatin
Fluvastatin
Pravastatin
Rosuvastatin
Simvastatin
Despite having names ending in ‘‘statin’’ (although not ‘‘vastatin’’) do not
mistake the following drugs for cholesterol-lowering agents: nystatin
(an antifungal drug), pentostatin (an anticancer drug) and cilastatin
(an enzyme inhibitor given with the antibiotic imipenem, see page 2).
Sulphonylureas
(drugs given to help treat type II diabetes). Most
sulphonylureas can be recognised by names that begin with the prefix ‘‘gli’’: -
Glibenclamide
Gliclazide
Glimepiride
Glipizide
Tolbutamide
Summary of Drug Prefixes and Suffixes.
ACE inhibitors
end with…
pril
Alpha-blockers (most)
end with…
osin
Antibiotics (many)
end with…
cin
Antibiotics (carbapenems)
end with…
penem
Antibiotics (cephalosporins) begin with… cef
Antibiotics (penicillins)
end with…
cillin
Antibiotics (quinolones)
end with…
floxacin
Antibiotics (rifamycins)
begin with… rif
Antibiotics (tetracyclines)
end with…
cycline
Angiotensin-II receptor antagonists end with sartan
Benzodiazepines
end with…
azepam or azolam
Beta-blockers
end with…
olol or lol
Bisphosphonates
end with…
dronate or dronic acid
Class II calcium channel blockers end with dipine
Corticosteroids
end with…
sone, solone, olone or sonide
5HT3 antagonists
end with…
setron
H2 blockers
end with…
tidine
NSAIDs (most)
end with…
ac, fenac or profen
Paracetamol compounds
end with…
amol
Phenothiazines
end with…
promazine or perazine
Proton pump inhibitors
end with…
prazole
Statins
end with…
vastatin
Sulphonylureas
begin with… gli
This guide is intended for information purposes only and not as an aid to unsupervised
drug administration by nursing students [MFCurrivan/WirralRenalUnit/2011].
6