Medication conflicts

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What can a nurse do about the scheduling of medications that conflict with each other.

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do you have a specific example? often times it's simply necessary to space them far enough apart so that the interaction is minimized.

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Specializes in Reproductive & Public Health.

sounds like a homework question lol

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What can a nurse do about the scheduling of medications that conflict with each other.

Schedule them so they don't conflict.

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What do you think could be done? Since you posted in the student section, would believe you are a student. There are a lot of knowledgable nurses on this site that will help students out, however it is expected that you do the work. Explain what your thoughts are, and what you might be having problems understanding.

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Scenario: patient who is day two post op gastrectomy, with afib. Was currently taking antacids and the doctor ordered digoxin. I know antacids decreases digoxin absorption. So my thought would be to give digoxin first, and then the antacid like 2-3 hrs after the digoxin is given? This way the digoxin has some time to absorb before the antacid ? But I'm not sure if that would be correct

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It's not a real patient. It's a scenario we are given and then we practice doing assessments on the simulators in the lab that go along with the patient in the scenario

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

First question why is a post gastrectomy patient receiving PO meds (if partial gastrectomy then possibly PO liquids not pills on post op day 2)?

Second nursing has the option to consult with the pharmacist to ensure safety and comparability. Drugs that cross react with antacids are usually 2hrs before antacid or 6 hrs post.

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One of the things you are going to want to look at is what is the time course of a single dose. Depending on the route PO or IV effects and peak will vary. Also digoxin has a narrow therapeutic range and antacids increase absorption of digoxin. The other thing I would be asking is why is the patient taking antacids, is it something that has been prescribed by a physician or does the patient take them on there own. Depending on the reason why they are being taken they might be able to stop taking the antacids. Also another thing to think about is how quickly do antacids work and for how long.

Hope this helps, just some of my thoughts of how I would go about thinking this out.

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