Take an IV Quiz!
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Poll results: Bevel up or Bevel down when inserting IVs
A week ago, I posted a poll on my blog about inserting a peripheral IV catheter, bevel up or bevel down. Here’s the result as of 11.23.2010. The poll showed, inserting bevel up is the technique used by 92.11% of the blog readers who took the poll. It is also the common practice and the…
Bevel up or Bevel down?
A week ago, a colleague @nerdymedic posted this question posted this on Twitter. “Can you shed some light on the “bevel down” technique that some profess for peds?” It was an interesting question, to which I replied: Bevel down vs. bevel up when inserting IV catheters. I have always inserted peripheral IV catheters bevel up…
2010 NIOSH List Antineoplastic/Hazardous Drugs
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released an update to the 2004 sample list of hazardous drugs. The 2010 list supersedes the 2004 list and includes 21 additional drugs. According to ASHP [1990] the definition of hazardous drugs:1. Carcinogenicity 2. Teratogenicity or other developmental toxicity 3. Reproductive toxicity4. Organ toxicity at low…
Overheard in an Infusion Center….
“ we’re just like a filling station, they (patients) come here, we fill them up and let them go”!! This was the response from several RN’s working in a hospital based outpatient infusion center I recently visited where chemotherapy and biologic agents are administered to patients with oncologic and non-oncologic disorders, including patient’s with immune…
mAb….what’s in a name?
As with most drugs or medications, many nurses know them by their trade names only. Occasionally, we had to learn the generic names especially after the patent expires. I have been infusing biologic agents, monoclonal antibodies in particular for over 10 years now and learned that monoclonal antibodies have a standard nomenclature scheme developed by…
Informed consent for Infusions of Biologics
A common question I get asked by nurses is…..do I need to obtained an informed consent from a patient who is receiving infusions of biologic agents such as Remicade (Infliximab)? An informed consent, according to the American Medical Association (AMA), is the communication process between a patient and his or her physician that results in…
Infusions of Monoclonal Antibodies in New York State
In the past 12 years, we have seen an increase in new monoclonal antibodies approved by the FDA for numerous indications as treatment options for cancer, neurologic disorders, immunologic, and autoimmune diseases, to name a few. These monoclonal antibodies are administered either subcutaneously, usually self administered by patients or administered intravenously by a registered nurse…
Intentional Infusions during Pregnancy
As an infusion nurse, I have given infusions to pregnant patients only for the treatment of hyperemesis gravidarum. The infusions were primarily liters of IV fluids with multivitamins or a modified version of total parenteral nutrition just enough to tide them over until most patients are able to eat and sustain adequate nutrition orally. Otherwise,…
Can vs. Should
What am I talking about? I am referring to a very difficult and controversial topic in infusion therapy, the use of medical assistants (MA) in peripheral intravenous insertion and administration (infusion) of medications. Before I continue, I would like to disclose that I have nothing against medical assistants and this discussion does not include nursing …
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