Forum topic

Dysgeusia, an altered taste, is a problem with all brands of prefilled syringes and is not related to one brand. I recently wrote a white paper on this topic for one of the manufacturers. In researching this question, there are numerous diseases and drugs that cause dysgeusia, however there is no actual reports or research reporting on normal saline causing it. Most patients receiving flushes have at least one of the diseases or are on one of the drugs that causes this problem. My unanswered question was how does the flush of normal saline precipitate the altered taste sensation. What is it about the normal saline or the flush procedure that stimulates an increased awareness of the taste alteration? No one has published anything about this. But I do know that all prefilled syringe brands and even normal saline filled by nurses can cause this problem. Lynn