giving medication through burette

[Rach101]

Hi.

Im on clinical placement at the moment and have a question...

Heres the scenario. Pt needs AB's given over 1/2 thru burette. Nurse tells me to prime extension tubing then put 30ml NS into burette and add AB's to that. Then we go to bedside to connect it up. Now heres where i get confused...

Nurse puts volume to be infused as 30ml. Runs it thru over half and hour then adds NS to burette to flush the line.

So heres my question: If the VTBI is 30ml does that include voume in extension tubing. Because if it does then not all the medication would be delivered within the half an hour. It would only be delivered once the NS flush is added. Is that correct?

Thanks.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

No, the volume to be infused (VTBI) does not include the volume in the extension tubing. You go by what you originally mixed in the burette. The actual amount of fluid in these extension tubings is only 1 or 2 mL of fluid and not significant enough to include in computing the intake and output. Any fluid left in the IV line is going to get flushed into the patient with the next dose of the ATB (antibiotic) or flushed through the line with the flush solution added after the ATB is done running.

[Rach101]

thanks heaps for clarifying that