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Development of a guide intravenous administration

European Statement

Clinical Pharmacy Services

Author(s)

Gregorio Romero Candel, Esther Domingo Chiva, Jose Marco del Rio, Marca Diaz Rangel, Wals Valladolid, Sergio Plata Paniagua, Nuria Maryinez Monteagudo

Why was it done?

Critically ill patients often require the administration of several intravenous drugs. Besides, we have many times limited intravenous accesses in which the administration of drugs and other intravenous compounds such as parenteral nutrition must be shared.
Because of that, it is very important to have drug administration guides standarizing every-day clinical practice.
This guide was developed in order to reduce the health care workers burden and promote patient’s safety.

What was done?

We developed an updated guide on direct intravenous administration of drugs for health care workers of both critical care and emergency departments.

How was it done?

A database with every intravenous drug that is included in the Pharmacotherapeutic Guide in our hospital was prepared, alphabetically organized by Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API). The following data were collected: API, tradename, available dosage forms and recommendations for direct intravenous administration.
For each API, a bibliographic research of information was conducted, among other hospital administration guides, manufacturer´s product information, drug databases (BOT plusR, Micromedex) and requests of information to the technical departments of the manufacturer.
In case of a discrepancy in the information, the guide with higher evidente or more recent was selected.
The antineoplastic drugs were not included in this guide because they are not used or prepared in critical care or emergency departments.

What has been achieved?

This guide promotes safe administration of drugs in critically ill patients, being a useful, accesible and easy-to-use tool for nurses.
Its elaboration allows us to standarize the direct intravenous drug administration, to inform every health care worker and make them aware about its importance. Besides, the Pharmacy Department actively participated in the process of safe drug administration in our hospital

What next?

We are still working on the same departments to improve safety in drug therapy in critically ill patients. Currently, improvement measures that are being developed are: new pharmacotherapeutic protocols specifically for this unit; drugs and drug-diluent compatibility guidelines and new training sessions.

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