NURS 3100 Exam 1 Practice

In clinical practice, what does it mean when a medication has a high therapeutic index?

1. It can be safely administered at higher doses

2. It has a narrow safe dosage range

3. It is more potent than other drugs

4. It produces fewer side effects

The correct answer is: It can be safely administered at higher doses

When a medication has a high therapeutic index, it means that it can be safely administered at higher doses without a significant increase in the risk of side effects or toxicity. This is because medications with a high therapeutic index have a wide margin of safety between the therapeutic dose (effective dose) and the toxic dose. This allows healthcare providers to adjust the dosage within a broad range to achieve the desired therapeutic effect while minimizing the risk of harm to the patient. Options B, C, and D are incorrect: B. Medications with a narrow safe dosage range have a low therapeutic index, which means there is a smaller margin of safety between the therapeutic and toxic doses. C. A medication being more potent than other drugs does not necessarily relate to its therapeutic index. Potency refers to the amount of drug needed to produce a specific effect, while therapeutic index is a measure of the safety of a drug. D. The number of side effects produced by a medication is not directly related to its therapeutic index. Some medications with high therapeutic indexes may still produce side effects, but the margin of safety when dosing is wider.