PO vs IV Medication Question

[smithma5]

Nursing friends,

I am doing a little bit of research. In your practice do you come across any medications that only come in the form of tablet and do not have an option for IV or IM administration? If so, would you mind letting me know the type of unit you work on and any info about the med(s)?

For example, Buspirone (shivering suppression after a cardiac event) only comes as tablet.

Thanks so much for your help!

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

Yep. Not something you'll see outside an ICU that does post-arrest cooling.

I've done my fair share of hypothermia protocols but this was not a drug utilized in my healthcare system for that purpose.

[Dranger]

I've done my fair share of hypothermia protocols but this was not a drug utilized in my healthcare system for that purpose.

We used Demerol or paralytics, never Busprione. Not saying it isn't used but we just never had it in our protocol.

[twozer0, NP]

Nursing friends,

I am doing a little bit of research. In your practice do you come across any medications that only come in the form of tablet and do not have an option for IV or IM administration? If so, would you mind letting me know the type of unit you work on and any info about the med(s)?

For example, Buspirone (shivering suppression after a cardiac event) only comes as tablet.

Thanks so much for your help!

Any pharmacy resource at your hospital will have information on every drug and its available forms, this includes drug books, and resources such as epocrates. We have lexicomp here. I can put in any drug and it will tell me its available forms as well as anything else about it.

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

We used Demerol or paralytics, never Busprione. Not saying it isn't used but we just never had it in our protocol.

In my experience, Demerol was used in the PACU for post-op shivering. In the MICU we nimbexed for hypothermia-induced shivering.

I personally take BuSpar so I find this information especially interesting.