Hey guys, it's Claire, and today I'm here to talk about allopurinol, a medication most commonly used in the prevention of gout. For the NCLEX, you'll want to know how allopurinol works, what it's used for, and side effects to be aware of. I know it's daunting to keep track of facts about hundreds of drugs, but don't worry, I got you.
This video will cover the most important facts about allopurinol in the form of a visual mnemonic, so you'll have no trouble remembering them all on test day. Let's dive in. After walking barefoot and foraging all day, there's nothing better to treat a stubbed toe than a bit of aloe. You know how aloe was a plant used by our ancestors to heal injuries and the like? Well, this aloe also happens to be our memory anchor for allopurinol.
Since aloe sounds a lot like allopurinol, right? It's the allopurinol aloe plant. Let's begin our conversation by discussing how allopurinol is used in the clinical setting.
We've really stepped away from civilization here. Just take a look at that yurt in the back. Yep, we picked this location to build our yurt since there is a lemon tree nearby.
This yurt combined with the lemons here is our symbol for uric acid. Let me explain. Yurt kind of sounds like uric or uritic, right? And lemon should remind you of acid since lemons are pretty acidic.
Putting this together, the yurt and acidic lemons should remind you of uric acid. You see, allopurinol works to lower uric acid levels in the body. So when would this be useful?
Let's move on to find out. We were out foraging barefoot and came back with really beat up feet. Yep, just look at how swollen our big toes have gotten. Good thing we have aloe on hand to treat the injuries.
By the way, a big swollen toe is our recurring symbol for gout, since gout often manifests in the form of a painful swollen toe in what is known as podagra. Treating the toe with aloe should therefore help you remember that allopurinol can be used to treat gout. Specifically, allopurinol is used as a maintenance therapy to prevent gouty attacks. since the cause of gouty attacks is usually uric acid buildup in the joints. In other words, this is a drug that people take to prevent acute flare-ups.
Note that this drug is not very useful after an acute gout attack has already occurred. There are other medications like NSAIDs for that. Instead, by lowering uric acid levels, allopurinol helps prevent the gouty attacks from occurring in the first place.
Lowering uric acid levels can be useful in preventing kidney stones in patients with gout. since kidney stones in these patients are also made of uric acid. Next, take a look at my friend here drinking water. It's a hot day here in the desert and it's a good thing these guys are staying hydrated.
Which reminds me, patients taking allopurinol to prevent kidney stones and gout should take the medication with plenty of water and increase their water intake throughout the day. You see, adequate fluid intake combined with allopurinol will greatly reduce the chances of the uric acid crystallizing. which is what causes those painful kidney stones and gout attacks.
Just remember this guy here drinking water. To remember, people taking allopurinol should also be advised to drink a lot of water. So what was the woman doing that got her feet all beat up? She was chasing after crabs to cook up for tonight's dinner, and it looks like she finally caught one.
As her partner bandages her feet, she's already splitting the crab, getting it ready to eat. Here at Pixerize, we use a crab to symbolize cancer. You know, since the zodiac sign for cancer is a crab.
So here, a split crab is our symbol for tumor lysis syndrome. That's because tumor lysis syndrome happens when cancer cells die and lice or split open, just like this crab here. When a patient undergoes chemotherapy, a lot of cancer cells die quickly, and when they lice, they can release a lot of uric acid into the body. This can lead to an acute clinical picture that looks a lot like gout. We mentioned this before, but remember that allopurinol is used to lower uric acid levels.
Therefore, allopurinol can also be used to treat tumor lysis syndrome. Getting aloe leaves from the plant is no joke. These plants are super spiky.
Yep, my friend here got super scraped up from the pokey plant, leaving scrapes all over his skin. By the way, the way he's scraped up like that kind of looks like a rash, don't you think? Just like the aloe gave this man rash-like scrapes, allopurinol has the potential to cause a severe rash known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Tell the patient to immediately report any signs of a rash, since Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a serious condition that requires immediate medical attention. Alright, that's all for this mnemonic.
Let's recap. Allopurinol is a medication that lowers uric acid levels. Allopurinol is used as a chronic treatment of gout to prevent acute attacks, and patients should take the drug with plenty of water to most effectively reduce their risk of a gout attack.
Allopurinol may also be prescribed to treat tumor lysis syndrome, and it is recommended that the drug be prescribed in patients who have recently received chemotherapy. Any rashes that develop while taking allopurinol should immediately be reported because a serious adverse reaction is Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a type of severe drug rash. And now we're actually done with allopurinol. Better get your own hands on some aloe to smash all over your keyboard and mouse. See you in the next one.
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I'll see you next time.