Nubain drip for itching???

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 11, 2003

we do this when benadryl fails.

We put 10-20 mg in a liter of LR IV for post-anethesia itching. Works well for most people.

imenid37 · Dec 11, 2003

Works better than using a narcan ggt which tends to knock out the pain relief more than nubain since it is a pain reliever itself. Used it several times w/ pretty good results. I see you use duramorh. The place I used to work used Duramorph a lot too. We don't see as much itching w/ a continuous epidural fentanyl/ropivicaine infusion. Just curious...Do you l have to (this was our policy) check resp q1 hr and document or have pt. wear an apnea monitor w/ Duramorph? (it's been almost 10 years since I worked w/ it).

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 11, 2003

we have to have sat's on everyone having had a duramorph spinal Q1h for 12 hours. this gets time consuming to say the least, but we do it.

on gyn surgical, they are on continuous sat probes x12 hours. (they had general as you know).

bluesky, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2003

The nubain competes for the receptors, thus blocking the duramorph (ergo no more itching) while still helping with pain control.

glascow · Dec 12, 2003

When I worked in ICU and the pts had a duramorph epidural they were always monitored q1 , but all ICU pts were.

Now I'm working in an outpt surgery center with overnight care. When I get pts the epidural is already out, they just use it for surgery, usually on the post-op hysterectomy patients, however, many pts still c/o itching.

I never questioned using the Nubain gtt in ICU, and thought nothing of it over here, but several of the nurses are saying they are not comfortable having a pt on a Nubain drip at this facility.

We then did some research on Nubain and cannot find documentation that supports its use as a continuous drip. I agree it does work well when Benadryl fails.