? giving small amount of Morphine

[mamaRN-09]

Just want to make sure my thinking is correct.

Order 4mg IV push

On Hand 10mg/ml

Dosage 0.4ml

To make it easier to push slowly. I can take a 10cc NS syringe - waste 1cc then draw up 1cc of med. Which will give 10mg/10ml.

Dosage will then be 4ml. Is this correct. I am using the D/H X V formula. I know there are many different ways to IV push small dosages. I just want to know if this method is one of them and that I am calculating it correctly. Thanks for any reply's - new grad - second guessing myself.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Not sure if I'm reading this right, but ===

If you take 1 ml of Morphine out, you'll have 10 mg, not 0.4 mg.

Here's how I do it. I take 0.4 ml out with a 1 cc syringe.

Then I get a 10 cc prefilled syringe, remove 1 cc, and add the exact dose of the med into the saline syringe.

It's a lot easier to show you than to explain, unfortunately.

[leslie :-D]

Not sure if I'm reading this right, but ===

If you take 1 ml of Morphine out, you'll have 10 mg, not 0.4 mg.

it will be 10mg/10ml, so 4 mg=4ml.

she's right.

leslie

[mamaRN-09]

Thanks for your reply. I understand what you are saying. I would be giving the full 10ml's. Sorry to be soo confusing. My thinking was if I draw up the full 10mg(1ml) and add to the 9ml of NS I would have 10mg/10ml. Then I would calculate:

4mg/10mg X 10ml= 4ml. If this is just too confusing please let it go.

P.S. love your user name.

[silentRN]

I just draw out the amount you need in a 1ml syringe and then transfer that to a 10ml syringe so it dilutes it. Quickest way for me, unless you just don't want to dilute it.

[leslie :-D]

Thanks for your reply. I understand what you are saying. I would be giving the full 10ml's. Sorry to be soo confusing. My thinking was if I draw up the full 10mg(1ml) and add to the 9ml of NS I would have 10mg/10ml. Then I would calculate:

4mg/10mg X 10ml= 4ml. If this is just too confusing please let it go.

not confusing at all.

with angie's way, you'd give the full 10cc, whereas your way, you'd have to waste the remaining 6cc.

chances are, you'll be wasting either way.

leslie

[mommiof2kids]

It never hurts to dilute morphine especially if pushing straight into the PIV. If you're pushing into a line with IVF infusing...I usually push at the next higher port on the line. It goes in a bit slower and dilutes with the IVF as it goes in. I don't know if I would start adding saline or subtracting. It gets confusing and that's how med errors are made. What I typically do is draw up the 0.4ml, take a prefilled saline syringe of 5ml. Attach the needless needle to the saline, insert into the top of the 1cc syringe and pull back so that the morphine is drawn up into the saline. Now you have your 0.4ml or 4mg in the 5ml of saline. This is what I've always done and it works out fine. Just make sure you label the saline syringe as "Morphine 4mg" so that you don't lose track of it:-}

[traumarns]

just a suggestion. why dont you ask pharmacy to stock your pyxis with 4mg morphine. we stock with 2,4, and 10's

it makes it so much easier, and dont have to find somebody to waist with.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

just a suggestion. why dont you ask pharmacy to stock your pyxis with 4mg morphine. we stock with 2,4, and 10's

it makes it so much easier, and dont have to find somebody to waist with.

A lot of us don't have the option.

Tait