From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Every drug-related page should contain information organized into the following sections, with attention to order:
- Drugbox
- This is not a section per se, but it should be included in every drug-related article
- It appears before the description in the article's HTML code, and it is displayed in the upper right corner of the article.
- If a piece of information is missing, use a questionmark(?) as a place-holder.
- If an image is needed, contact: User:Fuzzform
- Description
- General information about the drug.
- No section heading is needed, it simply starts beneath the drugbox.
- It should be clear that the substance is used as a drug (if that is its main use).
- If applicable, indicate alternatives to the INN name, such as the British Approved Name (BAN) or United States Approved Name (USAN).
- In parenthesis, list the main or initial brand names for the drug and the name of the drug company. Use the ® to indicate brand names, and make the word bold. If there are more than a few brand names, it is best to list these separately in the body of the article.
- Mention the drug family and briefly what it is used for.
- History
- Only include this section if a sufficient amount of info on the drug's origin and/or first synthesis is available.
- If available, a timeline of first synthesis, approval dates (US, Europe, UK, etc), when marketing stopped or ownership transferred, etc.
- Indications and Dosage
- What the drug is used for.
- What doses are used for each one of the indications.
- Approved and off-label uses should be differentiated.
- Note if the drug approval varies internationally.
- Availability
- What forms the drug is available in; route of administration (e.g. oral, i.v., i.m., rectal, parenteral, intranasal.
- Oral forms should be differentiated: Tablets, Crushable tablets, Capsules (containing powder, gel or sprinkle beads), Enteric-coated or slow-release tablets/capsules, Syrup, Sugar-free liquid, Powder (soluble or for suspension)
- Side Effects
- Common, uncommon, and rare;
- If possible, use percentages, with study/source cited:
- Side effect % with placebo/control vs. % with drug/experimental.
- Interactions
- What other drugs/foods interact with the drug in question;
- What effect(s) are produced by this interaction.
- Contraindications
- Under what circumstances the drug in question should not be used
- Overdose
- Symptoms of overdose
- What to do in case of overdose (i.e. whether or not it is a medical emergency)
- LD50, if available
- Pharmacology
- Chemistry of the drug; what structures it is comprised of
- What endogenous compound is affected by the drug,
- In the likely case of a neurotransmitter being the endogenous compound affected, details should be stated:
- Name of neurotransmitter class, e.g. "catecholamines"
- Inhibitory or excitatory
- Pharmacokinetics
- Major metabolic pathways of the drug (e.g. cytochrome P450 oxidase, monoamine oxidase, etc.)
- Metabolites, including active and non-active.
- Absorbtion, bioavailability, protein binding, elimination
- Physical/Chemical Properties
- Includes information on what physical form the drug appears in (i.e. salt or free acid), its freezing/melting/boiling points (if available), solubility of the drug
- Illicit Use
- If applicable;
- Recreational usage (i.e. abuse)
- Other illicit usage (e.g. flunitrazepam used to facilitate robbery)
- References
- These are essential. Unreferenced "information" may be deleted or moved to the talk page.
- External Links
- Links to online pharmacies and blogs will be deleted.
- Categories/Templates
- Not a section, but an important part of any drug article.
- Categories: Upon completing an article, look for similar articles to check for what categories they belong to. Add new article to appropriate categories. If no similar articles can be found, add new article to whatever categories seem fitting (and add a note to this effect on the talk page).
- Templates: Most families of drugs already have a template. See the Categorization page for a list of templates.
