Azols are a class of antifungal medication that are used to treat fungal infections such as candidiasis and tinea infections. In this visual mnemonic, I'll teach you an easy way to remember everything you need to know about azole drugs for test day. For this mnemonic, we've come across this poor man lost in a dark and dense forest. On the forest floor, there are tons of hazelnuts. These hazelnuts are our symbol for today's drug class, the azoles.
Because hazel sounds a lot like azol, get it? Let's start by talking about how to recognize which drugs are azoles. Hazelnuts aren't the only thing covering the forest floor.
We also have quite a few pinecones. Pinecones and hazelnuts are things you might expect to find on the forest floor, right? So no surprise here, but...
And by combining these two, you have an easy way to recognize the azole drugs which end in conazole. Pine cone and hazelnut for conazole. Make sense?
Example drug names include fluconazole and miconazole. I want to specifically note that there are quite a few other drugs that end in azole alone that aren't actually azole drugs, like metronidazole. So make sure you focus on the cone in conazole to get the full stem here, remembering the pine cones and the hazelnuts. With the naming out of the way, let's talk about what drugs like fluconazole and myconazole are used to treat.
This guy has been lost in the forest for a while now and is desperate for food. He couldn't crack open the hazelnuts, so he foraged some mushrooms and decided to give those a try. And... And yeah, these mushrooms were the poisonous kind and they've made him sick. See him spitting out the mushrooms there?
You probably know that mushrooms are actually a type of fungus. So these mushrooms here are our symbol to help you remember that azoles are antifungal drugs, meaning that they are used to treat fungal infections. It's dark in this forest, so good thing this man has a candle to help him see. This candle?
is our symbol for candidiasis. Get it? Candle for candida? Candidiasis is a type of fungal infection that comes from the fungus candida and can infect the mouth, skin, or vagina. Azoles are commonly used to treat all types of candidiasis, and both topical and oral forms are available.
Just remember this candle to remember that azoles are used to treat candidiasis. Since the mushrooms didn't work out, the man has a new plan for getting food. He's going to trap a squirrel. Squirrels love hazelnuts and pinecones, so the man is gathering them up in this tin can and then pouring them into a trap.
The tin can is our symbol for tinea infection, because tinea and tin can both start with tin. Get it? Tenia infections, also known as ringworm, are another form of fungal infection effectively treated by azole drugs like fluconazole.
Now that we've covered the clinical uses of azoles, let's move on to their side effects. Those poisonous mushrooms are really not sitting well in this man's stomach. Now he's not just spitting them out, he's throwing them up.
The poor guy is grabbing his stomach in pain as he vomits. Which reminds me, azoles are known to cause gastrointestinal upset. Patients may experience symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea when taking these medications.
This man is pouring the hazelnuts and pine cones out of the tin can and into his squirrel trap. To set the trap, there is a large lever that the man has to pull. In the Pixarized universe, we use a lever as our symbol for the liver. Because liver and lever sound so much alike, right? Plus, the handle on this lever even looks like a liver.
don't you think? Azoles can cause liver damage, also called hepatotoxicity, if taken over a long period of time. Hepatotoxicity manifests in these patients as slight elevation in the liver enzymes AST and ALT, jaundice, and abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant. Just keep an eye out for this side effect. The squirrels in this forest are smarter than the man thinks.
The squirrel in the tree knows exactly what the man is up to and is throwing a hazelnut at the man, which is hitting him right in the head. That's gotta hurt. When you think of this hazelnut hitting the man in the head, I want you to remember that taking azoles can cause headaches.
Hit in the head for headaches, make sense? This is an expected and usually mild reaction to azoles, so no need to be alarmed if you see this in question on test day. Now that we've covered everything about azoles, let's review what we've learned and see if we can help this guy find his way home.
Azoles are drugs recognized by their common ending, conazole, like fluconazole and myconazole. These drugs act as antifungals and are used to treat fungal infections like candidiasis and tinea infections. Side effects include GI upset, hepatotoxicity, and headache.
And that's it! I think this hunter might have to settle on nuts for dinner. I'll see you in the next one. For more videos like this one, subscribe to our channel and check out our newest lessons.
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