dextrose and dilantin

Old IV Therapy nurse here. . .Dilantin crystalizes almost immediately upon contact with D5W. The resulting solution contains little bits of white, filament-like matter which you can see. Sometimes the solution is able to continue on down the drip chamber and through the the clear IV tubing making its way down the tubing toward the IV cannula. If things haven't yet clogged up within the IV tubing everything will stop infusing at the IV cannula hub since that filament-like matter clogs up the IV cannula and everything, generally, stops dead in it's tracks at that point. I've often been unable to save an IV clogged with this crystalized solution. If I have been lucky enough to save one of these clogged up IV's (it requires replacing all the IV tubing on the line and flushing the hell out of the newly unclogged IV cannula), it generally has to be changed soon because a phlebitis develops at the site of the IV cannula or in the vein just distal to it because of the irritation from the Dilantin solution and all the flushing with saline. In order for a significant amount of these Dilantin-Dextrose filaments to actually get into a vein, the IV cannula has to be of a very large bore.

In some of the hospitals I worked the nurses had a standing policy that required them to mix any IV push medication into 50 or 100cc of saline or D5W and allow it to drip over a 1 hour period (preferably on a pump). This dilutes a strong, irritating medication a bit to make it less corrosive in a patient's veins.

With dilantin mixed into a piggyback you either have to completely remove the IV line with D5W in it while the Dilantin admixture infuses, or clamp off the D5W line while the dilantin admixture is running. (I learned not to trust some types of roller clamps on IV lines. I used to put the rubber needle sheaths from IM tubex cartridges on the two blades of my hemostats and then used my hemostats to clamp IV tubing off while a piggyback infused.) In any case, you need to flush the point at which you are attaching the Dilantin admixture to the patients IV line with a fair amount of saline (5 to 10cc will suffice) before attaching and infusing the Dilantin. Similarly, you flush the point of attachment with 5 to 10cc of saline after you remove the line with dilantin admixture and reattach or restart the D5W infusion. That final flush of saline helps to move along any remaining Dilantin hanging around in the vein so it is cleared out before restarting the D5W.

You always "sandwich" any IV push medication between boluses of saline except, perhaps, during a code blue when time is a life-saving issue. Pull up a chair and put your watch with a second hand on it right in front of you so you can control how fast you inject the medication. With Dilantin 5 to 10cc of saline should be used. I would sometimes mix IV dilantin with a couple of cc's of saline in a 10cc syringe before giving the IV push.

By the way, when doing an IV push a larger volume syringe generates a lower pressure and is less likely to cause a vein to "blow" when it's contents are injected into a vein. So, it is always better to use a 10cc syringe rather than a 3cc syringe to push an IV medication. I know this is not always practical, especially with saline flushes, but for something like Dilantin I would take the extra effort to use a larger syringe because of the havoc this medication can create in the patient's vein.

Now, I know you're just chomping at the bit to get a chance to give this medication, aren't ya?

we have these nifty things called syringe pumps with I would have LOVED when I worked med-surg. I've spent hours and hours at bedside slow pushing volatile meds. How I would have loved a syringe pump to accurately and safely administer Dilantin (or digoxin, or lasix or morphine).

Why, thank you! Because I worked as an IV therapist I was able to observe and experience a lot connected with IV's. Pack this information away if you won't be using it immediately. You've gotten some real good replies on giving Dilantin. It's one of the odd medications that you have to be careful with.

I have also seen the results of what can happen when IV Dilantin infiltrates into the tissues. It is not pretty, believe me. I've heard of people having to have plastic surgery to correct the mess. The same kind of problems with infiltration also come up with IV Dopamine.