For Pharmacist: Top 200 drugs for 2017

Dr. Sean Kane PharmD, BCPS of Rosalind-Franklin University recently introduced the ClinCalc DrugStats Database and the 2017 Top 200 Drugs on his ClinCalc.com website.

The website was originally created to do calculations that would help him as a resident and then fellow practitioners. He noticed that the Top 200 drugs list has been absent for the last 5 years. Through a mechanism he describes on his website, he’s come up with a viable Top 200 and Top 300 drugs that can be valuable for pharmacy schools that accounts for some of the changes in the calculating of these lists and the expense of getting the most recent.

The annual Top 200 Drugs is a list that takes advantage of Pareto’s Principle, that 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. The Top 200 drugs as the 20% represents the 80% of prescriptions that are actually filled. While the actual percentages deviate from that 80/20, the principle holds. However, the Top 200 Drugs list presents a problem for students and educators. What order should a student learn them in?

If one tries to learn them in the order they appear, this makes it very difficult as drugs in similar classes often sit on different areas of the table. If one tries to learn them alphabetically, this only helps with those drug classes that have a similar prefix, like the cephalosporins cefepime and cefuroxime. However, by classifying them in an order of pathophysiologic classifications, it becomes much easier to learn them. In my 2 audiobooks Memorizing Pharmacology: A Relaxed Approach and How to Pronounce Drug Names: A Visual Approach to Preventing Medication Errors, I take advantage of this third approach making further groupings to help with serial memorization – memorizing drug lists in a specific order.

Below, I have ordered the Top 200 Drugs as listed on the ClinCalc.com website first in 7 main groupings of Gastrointestinal, Musculoskeletal, Respiratory, Immune, Neuro, Cardio, Endocrine. I use the GMRINCE, GrandMothers RINCE kids hair (the French spelling of rinse) as a way to remember this broad order of gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, etc.

Within the large groups I classify drugs by their mechanism of action starting with H2-blockers (ending with –tidine), then proton pump inhibitors (ending with –prazole) and so on, alphabetizing the drugs within a class with the same stem to give a way to readily memorize these 200 drugs.

Both audiobooks go into greater detail on mnemonics and rationale for this system. By using Dr. Kane’s Top 200 list and the Memorizing Pharmacology rationale, a viable list and method comes forth for the Top 200 Drugs of 2017. I’ve made a playlist on YouTube with the Top 200 drugs listed in the order below:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCVrPKWoior1LYXzy4u04Ychd_0pyOkCQ

Gastrointestinal     

1 Famotidine
2 Ranitidine
3 Esomeprazole
4 Lansoprazole
5 Omeprazole
6 Pantoprazole Sodium
7 Docusate
8 Ondansetron
9 Promethazine Hydrochloride
10 Mesalamine

Musculoskeletal  

11 Aspirin
12 Diclofenac
13 Ibuprofen
14 Naproxen
15 Meloxicam
16 Celecoxib
17 Acetaminophen
18 Morphine
19 Hydrocodone Bitartrate/Acetaminophen
20 Oxycodone
21 Tramadol Hydrochloride
22 Sumatriptan
23 Alendronate Sodium
24 Baclofen
25 Carisoprodol
26 Cyclobenzaprine Hydrochloride
27 Methocarbamol
28 Tizanidine
29 Allopurinol

Respiratory (also some allergy/topical)  

30 Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride
31 Hydroxyzine
32 Cetirizine Hydrochloride
33 Levocetirizine Dihydrochloride
34 Loratadine
35 Beclomethasone
36 Budesonide
37 Fluticasone
38 Mometasone
39 Triamcinolone
40 Guaifenesin
41 Benzonatate
42 Clobetasol Propionate
43 Hydrocortisone
44 Methylprednisolone
45 Prednisolone
46 Prednisone
47 Budesonide; Formoterol
48 Fluticasone Propionate/Salmeterol Xinafoate
49 Albuterol
50 Albuterol Sulfate; Ipratropium Bromide
51 Ipratropium
52 Tiotropium
53 Montelukast

Immune   

54 Amoxicillin
55 Penicillin V
56 Amoxicillin/Clavulanate Potassium
57 Cephalexin
58 Doxycycline
59 Azithromycin
60 Clindamycin
61 Sulfamethoxazole; Trimethoprim
62 Ciprofloxacin
63 Levofloxacin
64 Fluconazole
65 Nystatin
66 Acyclovir
67 Valacyclovir
68 Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate

Neuro    

69 Meclizine Hydrochloride
70 Zolpidem Tartrate
71 Trazodone Hydrochloride
72 Citalopram
73 Escitalopram Oxalate
74 Fluoxetine Hydrochloride
75 Paroxetine
76 Sertraline Hydrochloride
77 Duloxetine
78 Desvenlafaxine
79 Venlafaxine Hydrochloride
80 Amitriptyline
81 Nortriptyline Hydrochloride
82 Mirtazapine
83 Bupropion
84 Alprazolam
85 Clonazepam
86 Diazepam
87 Lorazepam
88 Temazepam
89 Buspirone Hydrochloride
90 Amphetamine
91 Dexmethylphenidate Hydrochloride
92 Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate
93 Methylphenidate
94 Lithium
95 Aripiprazole
96 Risperidone
97 Quetiapine Fumarate
98 Divalproex Sodium
99 Phenytoin
100 Gabapentin
101 Lamotrigine
102 Levetiracetam
103 Oxcarbazepine
104 Pregabalin
105 Topiramate
106 Benztropine Mesylate
107 Ropinirole Hydrochloride
108 Donepezil Hydrochloride
109 Memantine Hydrochloride

Cardio   

110 Omega-3-acid Ethyl Esters
111 Aspirin
112 Furosemide
113 Chlorthalidone
114 Hydrochlorothiazide
115 Hydrochlorothiazide; Triamterene
116 Spironolactone
117 Potassium
118 Doxazosin Mesylate
119 Terazosin
120 Clonidine
121 Propranolol Hydrochloride
122 Propranolol Hydrochloride/Hydrochlorothiazide
123 Atenolol
124 Atenolol; Chlorthalidone
125 Metoprolol
126 Carvedilol
127 Nebivolol Hydrochloride
128 Benazepril Hydrochloride
129 Enalapril Maleate
130 Lisinopril
131 Lisinopril; Hydrochlorothiazide
132 Quinapril
133 Ramipril
134 Losartan Potassium
135 Losartan Potassium/Hydrochlorothiazide
136 Olmesartan Medoxomil
137 Valsartan
138 Valsartan/Hydrochlorothiazide
139 Diltiazem Hydrochloride
140 Verapamil Hydrochloride
141 Amlodipine Besylate
142 Amlodipine Besylate/Benazepril Hydrochloride
143 Nifedipine
144 Hydralazine Hydrochloride
145 Isosorbide Mononitrate
146 Nitroglycerin
147 Atorvastatin
148 Lovastatin
149 Pravastatin Sodium
150 Rosuvastatin Calcium
151 Simvastatin
152 Fenofibrate
153 Gemfibrozil
154 Ezetimibe
155 Ezetimibe; Simvastatin
156 Warfarin
157 Dabigatran Etexilate Mesylate
158 Rivaroxaban
159 Clopidogrel Bisulfate
160 Digoxin
161 Amiodarone Hydrochloride

Endocrine    

162 Metformin Hydrochloride
163 Metformin Hydrochloride/Sitagliptin Phosphate
164 Sitagliptin Phosphate
165 Glyburide
166 Glimepiride
167 Glipizide
168 Pioglitazone Hydrochloride
169 Liraglutide
170 Insulin Aspart
171 Insulin Lispro
172 Insulin Detemir
173 Insulin Glargine
174 Levothyroxine
175 Thyroid
176 Testosterone
177 Estradiol
178 Estrogens, Conjugated
179 Ethinyl Estradiol/Desogestrel
180 Ethinyl Estradiol/Drospirenone
181 Ethinyl Estradiol/Levonorgestrel
182 Ethinyl Estradiol/Norethindrone
183 Ethinyl Estradiol/Norgestimate
184 Oxybutynin
185 Tamsulosin Hydrochloride
186 Finasteride
187 Anastrozole
188 Phentermine

Eye drops    

189 Brimonidine Tartrate
190 Latanoprost
191 Travoprost

Vitamin, Mineral, Electrolyte, Etc.  

192 Calcium
193 Cholecalciferol/Alpha-Tocopherol
194 Cyanocobalamin
195 Ergocalciferol
196 Folic Acid
197 Magnesium
198 Sodium
199 Sodium Fluoride
200 Ferrous Sulfate