A pharmacist receives a new prescription for Propecia. The prescription reads:
Take 5 mg by mouth once daily with or without meals for male pattern baldness x 30 days.
Refill: 5 times
Which of the following is True?
a. Fill it.
b. Call physician to clarify dosage strength.
c. Call physician to clarify indication of drug.
d. Call physician to clarify a number of refills of drug.
e. Change direction to take with meals after verifying with physician.
Answer: b
The active ingredient found in Propecia and Proscar is Finasteride.
Finasteride is a competitive and specific inhibitor of Type II 5-alpha-reductase. The development and enlargement of the prostate gland is dependent on the potent androgen, 5-alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT). By reducing the levels of dihydrotestosterone, Finasteride prevents the development and enlargement of the prostate gland.
Finasteride (Proscar) is indicated for the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men with an enlarged prostate to:
1. Improve symptoms
2. Reduce the risk of acute urinary retention
3. Reduce the risk of the need for surgery including transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and prostatectomy.
The recommended dose of Proscar is 5 mg once daily taken with or without meals.
Finasteride (Propecia) is indicated for the treatment of male pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) in MEN ONLY. The recommended dose of Propecia is 1 mg once daily taken with or without meals.
Therefore, the pharmacist should clarify the dosage strength with a prescribing physician since the prescription is written for Propecia but prescribed on bases of Proscar dose.
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