How do you draw up small amounts of medications for Picc lines?

[Hockeynursing]

Hi there,

im wondering how everyone else draws up Meds for PICCs that are in small doses?

for example, a patient had ordered 0.5 mg dilaudid Q 4 hours PRN IV.

its is available as 2 mg/ ml

and because it's PICC, needs to be on 10 cc syringe.

[Wile E Coyote, ASN, RN]

I draw it up using a 3 ml syringe, then transfer that to a 10 ml saline flush syringe. Flushing before and after if it's not given through a running IV, of course.

[Hockeynursing]

How do you transfer it to a ten ml flush ?

[mlowell20]

Stupid new nurse question.. Why do you need a 10cc for a picc? Is that just what fits??

[Wile E Coyote, ASN, RN]

My Dilaudid comes in a Carpuject syringe. Waste with your witness, remove the pre-installed needle and then access the carpuject syringe with the 10 ml syringe and draw it up.

[Hockeynursing]

Stupid new nurse question.. Why do you need a 10cc for a picc? Is that just what fits??

Anything less than 10 cc has to much pressure and can damage line.

[kskarzin91]

So why dilute if it's not required to dilute? I mean you can use a 3 ml syringe on a PICC and flush behind it. And it's just fine.

[kskarzin91]

Wait I should add my facility uses PICCs that are approved for smaller barrel syringes. I wasn't thinking that this might not be the case for every facility. Never mind answered my own question.

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

I've actually never heard that, before. I give the medication in a smaller syringe, but always flush with 10cc afterward.

[MunoRN, RN]

A 10 ml size plunger is only required when assessing patency, once patency has been established any size syringe can be used.

[loriangel14, RN]

You don't have to use a 10cc for the med, just the flush.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I used to draw up the small amount of medicine and transfer it to a prefilled 10mL normal saline flushing syringe. If there are no contraindications to mixing the medication with normal saline, this is one way you can give small amounts of medications via PICC.