Nicardipine gtt outside ED/Crit Care?

[safetygirltrish]

Is anyone using nicardipine infusions outside the ED/OR/PACU/ICU setting? We are looking to implement them on our Progressive Care Unit, but am looking to those who have gone before us for guidance. Any information is most helpful. The literature doesn't address the clinical setting outside ED/Crit Care/OR and only that patients should be monitored closely. Appreciate! The more specifc your protocol, guidelines, etc., the better...

[Cook26]

I work in the ICU. We allow Cardene drips on our progressive units, but titration is not allowed. Drips can only be titrated in the ICU by qualified nurses.

In progressive, a patient has to be on a stable rate. If conditions change, a physician has to be notified and they can put in an order for a new rate.

[safetygirltrish]

Thank you for your quick response! Most helpful!

[nurse111]

We have a mixed icu and step down occasionally our imcu patients will be on vasoactive drips. Our policy has some lingo in it that they can be on drips and Imcu but the drips are supposed to be essentially static with little titration. But in reality these patients are treated like an icu patient just charged less.

[Mully]

It only depends on the policy of the hospital you work at. The stepdown I came from, we'd titrate Cardizem, Dopamine, Nitro and others. Not Nicardipine though. However, I don't see why we couldn't have done that too.

It's just up to the facility