Query on Lovenox Administration

Specialties Med-Surg

Published

I have a buddy of mine that works on the Med/Surg. Unit where I work and is very interested in sites for Lovenox admin. She says she was taught that Lovenox equals love handles and should be admin. in the lateral aspects of abd. What is some other peoples' opinion? There are some RNs that think that ALL insulin injection sites may be used for Lovenox. What do you think?

Specializes in Palliative Care, NICU/NNP.
Anywhere you can give insulin, give lovenox...

NOT TRUE! You must stay away from the umbilicus as there are vessels in that area. It needs to be given in the lateral abdomen about at waist level.

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Well, except for the squabbling, this has been a good thread. I have not been as lateral as I should be for Lovenox, but I promise to change!

Another thing I just found out about Lovenox is how to activate the needle protector after giving the injection. (Can you believe I didn't know this until recently??) It's not obvious like other needle protectors.

"Orienting the needle away from you and others, activate the safety system by firmly pushing the plunger rod. The protective sleeve will automatically cover the needle and an audible "click" will be heard to confirm shield activation."

Duh. But ya learn something new every day.

Oldiebutgoodie

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Specializes in Cardiac.

Another thing I just found out about Lovenox is how to activate the needle protector after giving the injection. (Can you believe I didn't know this until recently??) It's not obvious like other needle protectors.

"Orienting the needle away from you and others, activate the safety system by firmly pushing the plunger rod. The protective sleeve will automatically cover the needle and an audible "click" will be heard to confirm shield activation."

I didn't know this!

However, we don't use lovenox at our hospital, just heparin 5000units SQ. Next time I see lovenox, I'll try the needle protector!

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I didn't know this!

However, we don't use lovenox at our hospital, just heparin 5000units SQ. Next time I see lovenox, I'll try the needle protector!

My friend also didn't know this, and was complaining to the Lovenox pharm rep, who explained it to her. Maybe Lovenox needs to make it more obvious, or something. It works like a charm, but is not at all apparent how it works.

Oldiebutgoodie

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question: at my hospital, we do a lot of TRAM surgeries who have very large transverse abd incisions going from one love handle to the other. also, with the TRAM, we are usually not allowed to give any injections or venipunctures in either arm if the tram involved both breasts. our clinician instructed us in this case to give the lovenox in the thigh. i am now questioning if this would be correct...what do you think?

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Hi. I am trying to find out where my sister-in-law should be putting her Lovenox. She was advised not to put it into the abdomen by her plastic surgeon. She is hoping to get breast reconstruction some time shortly after she finishes the Lovenox. So thanks for all the info. I wonder if we can get the makers of Lovenox to give some advice in these cases. I will try. PS I am not a nurse, but a lowly md. Thanks for having this info on line. It will help.

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Okay, seriously, I did not know about the "no burping."

When I went to the lovenox administration site, it stated that you should only not expel the air in the 30 and 40 dose prefilled syringes.

Are you saying that you should NEVER burp it, or that you should at least leave a little air? Can anyone point me to some documentation saying that you should always leave a little air--do all of you do this this for any other subQ, or just for lovenox?

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I just gave Lovenox for the first time in my clinicals last week to my pt - and when I lifted her shirt, I was HORRIFIED at the huge bruises in her abdomen from previous injections... she had about three of them, the biggest being underneath her navel area. Omg. My instructor told me to inject her in the abdomen, but didn't say lateral abdomen. This is good to know. Although she didn't bruise from my injections... I was taught to hold the needle in for 10 secs after injecting the med, and not to rub afterwards. My patient told my instructor to give me an A+ :-)

As for the air, I was told to leave that bubble in the pre-filled Lovenox syringe. I don't think that's true for any sub-q, though... but hey, I'm just a student :-)

And as for this:

Haven't you read the rest of the postings, dear?

Could you possibly be any more condescending?? Sheesh.

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Update: Today in clinicals, I overheard one of the RNs stating that she was about to give a Lovenox injection. I had forgotten about this thread until that moment, so I asked her, "Where do give that injection?" Her response: "In the belly, like a heparin shot." Ok, she's the RN, her call... but I wanted to look it up. So I did, in my Saunders drug book, and it specifically states "Instruct pt to lie down before administering by deep SQ injection. Inject between lt and rt anterolateral and lt and rt posteroalateral abd wall."

So I brought it up in post-conference, and my instructor said, "Wow, I didn't know that... learn something new every day." She wasn't being snotty about it, she was genuinely interested that I had found this info and passed it on.

So, thanks everyone...

And yes, I'll be sure to read my drug book more carefully in addition to what my instructor teaches. :-)

~Laurie

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Did the Lovenox rep mention what the air bubble in the syringe preload is. I've been told it is nitric oxide to help accelerate the absorption by dilating the blood vessels.

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as long as it is in injected in SQ

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThWUwxHcuYQ ...This is a link to a youtube video by Lovenox; it's 9:33 long with about 3 minutes of useful information, but worth looking at if you have any questions.
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