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Discussion

Abbreviation help, please??

Hey nurses! Hope you're all well. Okay I'm writing up one of my pts for clinical this week and under IV therapy it says "left hand, DTR" and then a dd/mm/yy date. The only DTR I know of is for deep tendon reflex, but that doesn't seem appropriate here. I can't seem to find anything about another meaning for DTR on the internet. Any ideas? Thanks a lot. :D

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    • Featured Replies

    Might it be the initials of the person who started it? I know when we date IV tubing etc we add our initials.

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    • Author
    Might it be the initials of the person who started it? I know when we date IV tubing etc we add our initials.

    Thanks oroxy! I should have clarified...It's not on the tubing, it's on the "worksheet" that prints out for each pt...There is a column for initials to the far right but it's not where the "DTR" is...hmmmmmmm. Thank you so much for taking your valuable time to reply to me! What in the world could this dang abbreviation mean?!

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    • Experts

    This is the trouble with non-approved abreviations.....if you don't work there no one knows what they are. I thought DTR could be "Deep Tendon Reflex"or daughter.....but for an IV I am sure that isn't it. I'll go with what has already been said...initials or maybe "Due To Renew". Which means that the IV orders need to be renewed. You could call the facility where you got the information and ask them.

    Here is an example of one facilities approved list

    http://stanfordhospital.org/forPhysiciansOthers/physicians/documents/SHCApprovedAbbreviations.pdf

    and The Joint Commission's DO NOT USE list.

    http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/18/Official_Do_Not_Use_List_6_111.PDF

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    dressing/tegaderm replaced? heck, why not call the floor and ask them!

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    Date to Remove?

    As you see more responses to your post, you will see why abbreviations can be dangerous.

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    Is the date listed in the past or future? If it's a future date, I think due to replace is probably what they mean. If it's a past date it either 1) must stand for something different or 2) the floor is as sloppy about changing IVs as they are using non-standard abbreviations

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    • Author

    Thanks so much for all your replies. YES I can see the importance of "do not use" abbrevs... Yikes! It is a future date, so "due to replace" sounds like the best bet...but MAN oh MAN could they make that any more confusing!? What's more, the date the IV was placed was on the sheet, and facility policy is q96h. So do they REALLY need a DTR date in the first place? I mean add 4 days to the date it was placed and you know when it needs replacing...duh! Seems like complication for no good reason. Thanks again for your seasoned nurse insight :bow:.

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