Drug-Induced Diseases: Detection, Prevention, and Management

3 units

A drug-induced disease (DID) is the unintended effect of a drug taht results in mortality or morbidity with symptoms sufficient to prompt a patient to seek medical attention and/or require hospitalization. There have been great advances in drug therapy that have had tremendous beneficial impact on patient outcomes. However, the effects of drugs are not always beneficial; drugs are also capable of causing new diseases or exacerbating those that already exist. Some of these diseases are well known and transient (e.g., diarrhea, weight gain). Others, like liver disease and diabetes, are neither. This course will explore these issues in a novel, disease-specific way that will be accessible to a wide range of students: clinical research managers, medical students, nurses, pharmacists and other allied health professionals. The course will include weekly readings from the textbook or other sources. Regular group discussions will be important, addressing how this new knowledge can be applied to students' professional or personal practices.