Most Common IV Push Meds on Med-Surg

[nurseJ88]

Hi there.. I am an orientee on the med-surg floor. Just started.. What are the most commonly ordered IV push meds used on this floor for me to be well-knowledged off? .. consider dilution and compatibility, important things to remember.. I understand that I can look up a med in a drug book when necessary; however, it will really help me to start really knowing the most important ones. Thank you so much. Any IV med book that you recommend?

[NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN]

Proabably your IV pain and anxiety meds will be your biggies.

i.e. Morphone/Dilaudid, possibly Toradol and Ativan or Haldol

Don't forget Benadryl since everyone's "allergic" and it makes the meds "work better."

Steroids.

Hydralazine or vasotec for BPs.

Protonix/Prilosec

Most floors have a chart in the med-room with drug compatabilites for a quick reference.

[missnurse1]

For me it's definetly Lasix, Toradol, and Protonix. Morphine is also very common but I think Lasix and toradol take the cake. I agree with the other post that compatability charts should be in your med room. :)

[letina]

Dilaudid and Phenergan.......and be prepared to hear some patients telling you what dosage they want, how often they will want it, and telling you to "push it quickly"

.....NOT that I'm advocating you take their "advice" of course

[NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN]

Oh, yeah.

I forgot about Zofran.

As for taking pt's "advice", you'll be the "only one" that doesn't disconnect the pt's IV tubing and inject the pain meds directly into the pt's IV/central line. Don't buy it.

[jessiern, BSN, RN]

Pepcid has got to be the top of the list, followed quickly by lasix and SoluMedrol. Dem/phen combo thrown in for fun. Protonix is on the rise at our hospital. Don't forget Reglan.

[st4wb3rr33sh0rtc4k3]

Lol, I would say Nexium, Protonix, or SoluMedrol. I work night shift, so every 6am.

Morphine, Dilaudid, Reglan, are definates too.

[Raebeth]

dilaudid, dilaudid, dilaudid!!! I am a very new nurse and I can not tell you how many times I have pushed this drug! Also a good one to know is Ativan. When it is ordered IV push you have to dilute it. A lot of my preceptors asked me what I was doing when I was diluting it in normal saline. When I told them that that is what it says to do in my drug book and not to mention it even says it on the vial its self "dilute before use" They were like, "Oh, I never do that. Whoops!" Make sure you look up IVP meds to know if they have to be diluted, and how fast or slow you can push them and what IVF they are compatible with. Good lucK!

[imanedrn]

dilaudid, dilaudid, dilaudid!!! I am a very new nurse and I can not tell you how many times I have pushed this drug! Also a good one to know is Ativan. When it is ordered IV push you have to dilute it. A lot of my preceptors asked me what I was doing when I was diluting it in normal saline. When I told them that that is what it says to do in my drug book and not to mention it even says it on the vial its self "dilute before use" They were like, "Oh, I never do that. Whoops!" Make sure you look up IVP meds to know if they have to be diluted, and how fast or slow you can push them and what IVF they are compatible with. Good lucK!

I dilute all my IV meds in NS, whether it's required or not. If they're a mix (like protonix or solu-medrol), I always use as much NS as I can leave in the 10ml syringe.

From a physiology standpoint, all of this stuff is poison to veins, so the more dilute the solution, the better off the vein will be. Also, if the IV if saline-locked, I make sure to flush with NS AFTER the meds, for the same reason noted above. It will save the vein and the IV site!

As a side note, when you flush saline-locks, make sure to flush BOTH ports. I've seen several ports clot off lately because other nurses only run fluids or flush 1 of the ports.

[JRD2002]

Yeah all of the ones mentioned above are the ones that I push most often. I also dilute everything and push everything slowly even if you might not have to. Nexium is one that should be pushed over 3 minutes, which is usually agonizingly long. I don't worry about compatibility mainly because I stop all IVF and flush before administering. You can always take 5 minutes to find the compatibility but I think it is just faster to disconnect everything and flush. Many of my patients have PICC lines so compatibility isn't as much of an issue as it may be on some floors.

[RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN]

Lasix, morphine, phenergan, dilaudid, vasotec

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

A couple of points: we don't use phenergan or demerol IV any more, and we do not dilute Dilantin IV.

Our most common IV meds are Morphine, Zofran, lasix, solumedrol, Lopressor, Protonix, Reglan, Dilaudid.