Multi-dose vials….not forever!!

Unlike the “Forever” stamps from the US Post Office, we should not keep using multi-dose vials until the vial is empty. Multi-dose vials are  to be discarded 28 days after first use, unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise (shorter or longer), according to the Joint Commission Medication Management Standards FAQ about multi-dose vials. So you say,…

I’m a year old….

I mean, my infusion nurse blog is a year old this month!!! Gosh, it’s hard to believe a year has gone by…it’s my first blog-o-versary!! My first blog was posted on August 18, a week after my blog site, infusion nurse blog was created. My goal was to share information about infusion therapy, vascular access,…

“Kemopalooza”…ya dig?

Last Friday, a patient scheduled to receive his chemotherapy walked into our infusion center with his wife, both wearing t-shirts with this printed on the front. I noticed but didn’t pay much attention until his treatment started. I was a bit slow on the uptake that morning and the patient was kind enough to explain…

Know your connectors….

…the devices that allow connections of infusion sets and catheter hubs. Unless you have been living under a rock, no one should be using needles to make that connection, thus the term…needleless connectors. In a previous blog, I posted about an FDA Alert on Positive Displacement Needleless Connectors . After I did, I realized that…

FDA Safety Alert on Nimodipine: Not for IV use

Nimodipine is a medication intended to be given in a critical care setting to treat neurologic complications from subarachnoid hemorrhage and is only available as a capsule. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting healthcare professionals that nimodipine capsules should be given ONLY by mouth or through a feeding tube (nasogastric tube). This…