Discolored Roxanol?

[BowlerRN]

At the nursing home I work at we have a resident receiving hospice care, he has COPD and was ordered PRN Roxanol for air hunger. The hospice nurse had taken care of getting the order from the physician and getting it from the pharmacy. The resident doesn't take it very often, but I have given it to him twice, I remember the first time I gave it I noticed it wasn't Red like I've always seen it, but didn't think much of it.

The other day our assistant DON asked the pharmacy consultant about it since we have 2 bottles from the same company of the same strength of Roxanol but one is yellow. The ADON is going to investigate it further, the pharmacy consultant said he would definitely question someone taking it and altering, but they did at one time have Roxanol that was orange. We are a very small place with few nurses and there's not anyone that we would suspect of this.

Has anyone ever seen Roxanol that was yellow in color?

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

Hmmm ours has been red or clear.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

I'd probably check the expiration date on the bottle, seal it, and turn it back in to the pharmacy for further investigation. It might just be a bad lot. We had a very cloudy batch of some antibiotic once, and we had to send it back.

[kids]

Could it possibly be a different or odd strength?

I've never seen the 20mg/ml in anything but clear and the 5mg/ml in bright blue.

Also, is it the branded name Roxanol or is it a generic?

[StNeotser, ASN, RN]

Oxydose is normally a yellow to clear color. It does come in a similar bottle to Roxanol. I've also seen orange Roxanol as well as the usual red but never yellow.

[BowlerRN]

It is Roxanol 20mg/ml, we have three bottles for different residents that are the exact same strength that came from the same pharmacy and the same drug company. Two of them are red and one is yellow.