Does your facility have/use filter needles for meds in glass vials? We were taught to use them in school, but I've never actually seen them on any floor I've been on, so I just do without.
danh3190 510 Posts Specializes in Med-Surg, Cardiac. Has 4 years experience. Aug 24, 2011 We have lots of filter needles on our floor. Not too many glass vials though.
Isabelle49 849 Posts Specializes in Home Health. Aug 24, 2011 Used them long ago for glass or plastic vials to filter any possible impurities.
Tait, MSN, RN 6 Articles; 2,140 Posts Specializes in Acute Care Cardiac, Education, Prof Practice. Has 16 years experience. Aug 24, 2011 Always had them, always used them.
ZippyGBR, BSN, RN 1,038 Posts Specializes in Spinal Cord injuries, Emergency+EMS. Aug 24, 2011 minor point of terminology vials shouldn't need filter needles, ampoules might ... if your concern is material breaking off as you snap the ampoule open and it falling into the drug inside
klone, MSN, RN 14,487 Posts Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership. Has 17 years experience. Aug 24, 2011 Always. Fentanyl and Nubain come in the ampules.
apocatastasis 207 Posts Specializes in Psychiatry, ICU, ER. Has 4 years experience. Aug 24, 2011 I would never administer a med out of a glass vial that wasn't drawn up with a filter needle. Never.
ZippyGBR, BSN, RN 1,038 Posts Specializes in Spinal Cord injuries, Emergency+EMS. Aug 24, 2011 I would never administer a med out of a glass vial that wasn't drawn up with a filter needle. Never.what is your rationale never to administer a medication out of a vial that wasn't drawn up with a filter needle ... if a vial's content has glass in it you wouldn't be using the damaged vial would you ? how does filter needle protect you or your patient in piercing the rubber bung of a vial ?if you had said it about an ampoule ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampoule ) it's understandable but probably over cautious...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vial
Butterfly2625 9 Posts Specializes in Gen Med. Aug 24, 2011 Yes, I have used filter needles multiples times over the course of my career. Medications that I am fond of pulling up with a filter needle are phenergan, Thorazine and dilaudid.
prmenrs, RN 4,565 Posts Specializes in NICU, Infection Control. Has 42 years experience. Aug 24, 2011 I used filter needles until we got filter straws--even better! http://www.planetrx.com/p/b-braun_filter-straw-5-micron-100-ea/176892.html?utm_source=frg&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=product&zmam=1000941&zmas=26&zmac=106&zmap=176892
Swiftright 12 Posts Aug 24, 2011 Is there some confusion here between glass ampules and glass vials?The only time I ever used a filter for vials was on certain drugs that can crystallize in solution and the rare cases of coring the stopper an irreplaceable drug. (working in pharmacy)You need filters for amps because when you break then micro fine pieces fly everywhere. As part of my training to compound cardio drugs and blocks we had a demo about glass particles. They used a certain type of lens to record us breaking them and then played it back and I was shocked to see what had looked like a clean break released a fine cloud of glass in addition to the pieces you see. We then had to pull up the fluid and look at it under a microscope. There was a huge amount of suspended glass in the solution.
Ivanna_Nurse, BSN, RN 1 Article; 469 Posts Specializes in CCU MICU Rapid Response. Has 18 years experience. Aug 24, 2011 We have filter needles too, and as someone else posted- filter straws.... Love those things. I would never give anything from an ampule without a filter needle. Ivanna
