HEPARIN BOLUS

[rnsprad]

HOW DO YOU GIVE A HEPARIN BOLUS (EX:5,000 UNITS) PRIOR TO A HEPARIN DRIP?THANKS.

[Zee_RN, BSN, RN]

I simply draw up 5000 units (e.g., 5 cc of 1,000-unit/ml heparin) and inject via the heplock and connect my heparin drip to the lock. Viola---he's been bolused.

[NurseJenn]

As above, I, too, always give my bolus IVP, but I have seen a nurse give the bolus SQ. I didn't get around to ask why SQ!

[JOY, RN]

Where I work the amount of Heparin being bolused is determined by pharmacy as well as the initial gtt rate. It's given IVP before the IV tubing is connected to the pt. Always follow your facility's protocol as with anything else.

[Lorraine bryan]

JEAN

WHAT IS SQ. ALL THESE ABREVIATIONS ON BB MAKES READING VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME. IS IT SUBCUTANEOUS. I KNOW WE SPELL THINGS A BIT DIFFERENT OVER HERE.

[mustangsheba]

Right you are, sister. I've never heard of a bolus being given SQ. What would be the point? Your drip would get in faster than the bolus.

[saphie]

Where I use to work, our floor was not certified for IVP so we would use a 50 ml IV bag with NS, inject the heparin into that and then run it over 15 mins, basically a push but not technically ! However if the floor you work is allowed to do IVP I would do it that way. As for the SQ what's the point, it's not really a bolus because the absorption would be quite abit slower than IV, weird.

[oramar]

I think that some of the MDs have a habit on writing 5000 unit heparin bolus assuming that the nurse would know it would have to be IVP. They should really write heparin bolus IVP just incase a really new nurse is around. They are required by law to be as specific as possible but that does not mean they always do it.