Here’s a conversation I’ve had with an RN preparing to give a weight based medication via a peripheral IV: I don’t weigh the patient each time they come in for an infusion. I only weigh them at the beginning of their treatment to get a baseline weight. Why should I weigh them again, they can…
Q: A patient gets daily IV antibiotic infusion at home. The antibiotic is mixed in a 50mL 0.9% Sodium Chloride minibag by pharmacy. The home care nurse administers the infusion via gravity drip using a macrodrip primary tubing via the patient’s PIV lock. When the IVPB bag is completely empty, the nurse stops the infusion, disconnects…
I came across a very unfortunate incident while reading a pharmacy colleague Jerry Fahrni’s (@jfahrni) blog post: ” CSP error results in death of a patient” The post was about a medication error at a hospital in Oregon. According to news reports, a woman arrived for treatment in the emergency department (ED) following brain surgery that…
This is an updated version of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) hazardous drugs list. So what’s new in this current update? The text for the update to the 2014 list was updated and expanded to reflect the complexity of safe handling issues that have arisen over the past few years. This…
If you are a registered nurse currently working with/delegating/supervising “unlicensed healthcare personnel” (UHCP) also known as “unlicensed assistive personnel” (UAP), would you be interested in answering a short survey related to the use of unlicensed healthcare personnel in the provision of infusion therapy? The survey is open to US registered nurses from all healthcare settings who work…
Q: You will think I am a complete idiot but please explain when is a single use syringe considered used? I need to explain to my practice manager why I can’t re-use a syringe while reconstituting a powdered medication for injection. My practice manager is complaining that I am using too many syringes and needles which…
1. The ASHP Guidelines on Home Infusion Pharmacy Services – defines the role of the pharmacist in providing home infusion care to patients and to outline minimum requirements (indicated by use of the word “shall”) and best practices for the operation and management of services provided by pharmacies in the home or alternate-site setting. Home…
These two terms defined by the Infusion Nurses Society means: Vesicant – an agent capable of causing blistering, tissue sloughing or necrosis when it escapes from the intended vascular pathway into surrounding tissue. Extravasation – the inadvertent infiltration of vesicant solution or medication into surrounding tissue. There are several chemotherapeutic agents with vesicant properties, and…
This great resource in available free to download to INS members from the INS website – SPC Checklist. SPC means short peripheral catheter, which man y of us call “peripheral IV catheter” or “PIV”. This checklist was part of the IV Safety Task Force position paper project on Recommendations for Improving Safety Practices for Short…
In June of 2013, I was honored to chair a national task force for the Infusion Nurses Society’s (INS) project on Short Peripheral Catheter Safety (SPC). Along with five other colleagues, we embarked on a task to identify the safety and practice issues and look at ways to promote safety in the insertion and management…
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