Saline in a bottle not for injection?

noahsmama · Sep 27, 2011

Perhaps it contains more trace elements than the kind that's used for injections?

Also, it seems to me that it would be harder to maintain sterility while drawing it up in a syringe if you're taking it out of a container that doesn't have a rubber septum where you can stick a needle and withdraw the saline. What would you do, pour it into a sterile container and then draw it up? You'd use up an awful lot of sterile containers that way.

I'm wondering why you want to know?

Hushi05 · Sep 27, 2011

I want to know because I'm a curious person. I saw the bottle the other day and saw it said, "Not for injection" and I'm not one to take things at face value. I want to know why! :nurse:

demylenated, BSN, RN · Sep 27, 2011

It has to do with sterility and possession.

belgarion · Sep 27, 2011

Sterility. Once that bottle has been opened you don't know who has had their fingers in it.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Sep 27, 2011

PP are correct. Saline for injection also has been microfiltered to make sure that it is free of particulate matter. It also has different preservatives (or none).

Hushi05 · Sep 27, 2011

Both the bottles and the IV saline bags say "preservative free". Both solutions are labelled "sterile" but of course neither would remain sterile once opened. I think the issue is more than that of concerns about sterility because the saline from the bottle of infusion saline could be kept sterile. The particulates answer makes sense to me.

RFRN · Sep 27, 2011

Funny - we had the same issue come up in our clinic recently. Had to give 1 liter of NS IV and we only had a 3 L bag (not a bottle) that states "for irrigation". Couldn't figure out what was different but I guess the microfiltering makes sense.

belgarion · Sep 27, 2011

Okay, let me muddy it up a little. In dialysis clinics they draw their flushes out of the bags of saline that are used during the treatments. I might add these bags are not changed out until they are empty. What I see on a regular basis is techs and nurses drawing flushes without swabbing the septum before inserting the needle. Any thoughts on this or any dialysis nurses out there who can shed some light on this practice?

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Sep 27, 2011

Okay, let me muddy it up a little. In dialysis clinics they draw their flushes out of the bags of saline that are used during the treatments. I might add these bags are not changed out until they are empty. What I see on a regular basis is techs and nurses drawing flushes without swabbing the septum before inserting the needle. Any thoughts on this or any dialysis nurses out there who can shed some light on this practice?

They should be swabbing, they are obiously not bothering and chosing poor practice

ErinS, BSN, RN · Sep 28, 2011

Most places uses bacteriostatic normal saline which actually has a tiny bit of alcohol in it. So while you should not use irrigation saline for injection, you also really should not use injection saline for irrigation. I learned this because I had a pt who needed a biliary drain flushed every shift, and we were just using the prefilled iv saline syringes. It burned when we flushed, and finally some smart pharmacist figured it out.

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Sep 28, 2011

You only use saline bottles in theatre. Once they're opened, they're not sterile. It's the same as the saline you use for injection.

The bottles only have a twist open cap, and no rubber port for injection so cannot be re-used once opened. If any is left after the op has finished, it gets dumped along with all the other disposable stuff.