Search results
side ef·fect
/ˈsīd əˌfek(t)/noun
- 1. a secondary, typically undesirable effect of a drug or medical treatment: "many anticancer drugs now in use have toxic side effects"
Powered by Oxford Dictionaries
Results from the Go Local Guru Content Network
In medicine, a side effect is an effect, whether therapeutic or adverse, that is unintended; although the term is predominantly employed to describe adverse effects, it can also apply to beneficial, but unintended, consequences of the use of a drug .
An adverse effect is an undesired harmful effect resulting from a medication or other intervention, such as surgery. [1] An adverse effect may be termed a "side effect", when judged to be secondary to a main or therapeutic effect.
In computer science, an operation, function or expression is said to have a side effect if it has any observable effect other than its primary effect of reading the value of its arguments and returning a value to the invoker of the operation. Example side effects include modifying or reading a non-local variable, a static local variable or a ...
Extrapyramidal symptoms ( EPS) are symptoms that are archetypically associated with the extrapyramidal system of the brain's cerebral cortex. When such symptoms are caused by medications or other drugs, they are also known as extrapyramidal side effects ( EPSE ). The symptoms can be acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term).
[1] : 1.1 Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) [2] ADRs may occur following a single dose or prolonged administration of a drug or may result from the combination of two or more drugs. The meaning of this term differs from the term "side effect" because side effects can be beneficial as well as detrimental. [3]
One article that reviewed 31 studies on nocebo effects reported a wide range of symptoms that could manifest as nocebo effects, including nausea, stomach pains, itching, bloating, depression, sleep problems, loss of appetite, sexual dysfunction, and severe hypotension.
What constitutes a therapeutic effect versus a side effect is a matter of both the nature of the situation and the goals of treatment. No inherent difference separates therapeutic and undesired side effects; both responses are behavioral / physiologic changes that occur as a response to the treatment strategy or agent.
Anticholinergic drugs are used to treat a variety of conditions: Dizziness (including vertigo and motion sickness -related symptoms) Extrapyramidal symptoms, a potential side-effect of antipsychotic medications Gastrointestinal disorders (e.g., peptic ulcers, diarrhea, pyloro spasm, diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, nausea, and vomiting)
Common side effects of valproate include nausea, vomiting, somnolence, and dry mouth. [6] Serious side effects can include liver failure, and regular monitoring of liver function tests is therefore recommended. [6] Other serious risks include pancreatitis and an increased suicide risk. [6]
Side effects of opioids may include itchiness, sedation, nausea, respiratory depression, constipation, and euphoria. Long-term use can cause tolerance, meaning that increased doses are required to achieve the same effect, and physical dependence, meaning that abruptly discontinuing the drug leads to unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. [10]