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KMASSER
Dilution of IV medication with 10ml NS syringe

Our hospital's current policy states that when you have an IV push med to give a patient, you dilute the med
with 10ml of Normal Saline, stop the current infusion, flush the line with 10ml NS,, give the medication over the recommended time frame (usually 2-5min), flush the line again with 10ml of NS than start the infusion back up. I was wondering if the dilution of the IV push meds into 10ml NS is current practice at other hospitals, or are most hospitals following the medbook/ Micromedex guidelines for drug administration?

lynncrni
No drug dilution with prefilled flush syringes!

Are you asking about using a prefilled syringe for dilution of the medication? If so, there are many reasons why this is never recommended and can be a dangerous practice. Go to http://www.infectioncontrolresource.org/past.html and look at the left hand column under Active CE, Vol 4, No 4, Article title is Misuse of prefilled flush syringes- Implications for medication errors and contamination.
I am familiar with practices where the med is only diluted according to the drug manufacturer recommendations and dilution may or may not be required. I would recommend the use of the book, Intravenous Medications, published annually by Mosby. In my opinion, this is the only book that provides comprehensive information about giving meds by the IV route.
Otherwise, your policy of stop, flush, give med, flush again, and restart infusion is the recommended practice when you only have one lumen and it is also receiving a continuous infusion.

Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, NPD-BC, CRNI

Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.

PO Box 10

Milner, GA 30257

Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com

Office Phone 770-358-7861

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