sweetease

[winterblue]

Our unit now considers sweetease a drug; therefore we must scan it into emar whenever we use it for procedures, along with measuring exactly how much we give and can only give it so many times per procedure. Anyone else do this?

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

Ours is kept in the Pyxis and should be scanned before giving. Most people scan it the first time they give a few drops, but don't scan on subsequent administrations from the same squirt. We do not measure the amount given (max is 2 mL. entire squirt). We use the 2mL squirts, not the 15 mL cups.

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

No,and I hope not in the future as this will be the final straw among a bunch of ridiculous things that take the nurse away from the bedside for more charting and scanning.While it is ok for the OB doctor to take a baby in an isolette,with an iv, who was just fed and strap it to a circ board ,do the barbaric deed.

[Jokerhill]

I could see this as interfering with care making the baby suffer needlessly. I think nurses may not do all that to use it for a minor procedure like a blood draw or dex stick. Or they would keep a used one at the bedside for hours, allowing for bacterial growth, then use it again in its contaminated state.

[Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN]

I have to say I think it's a good idea, it reinforces the idea that Sweetease is a med (of sorts) and should be used only when appropriate. My current unit keeps stashes of it on the supply carts and it is WAY overused, IMO -- not for procedure-related pain relief, just to make babies be quiet quickly. Grinds my gears.

[Jokerhill]

I have to say I think it's a good idea, it reinforces the idea that Sweetease is a med (of sorts) and should be used only when appropriate. My current unit keeps stashes of it on the supply carts and it is WAY overused, IMO -- not for procedure-related pain relief, just to make babies be quiet quickly. Grinds my gears.

I agree it needs to be used appropriately.

[BeccaznRN, RN]

I'm with you. Nothing solicits an inward groan from me more than going into the room for safety checks and seeing a pile of sweet-ease, one of which is open, half-used, and sitting right at the head of bed.

[vintage_RN, BSN, RN]

I'm going to assume "sweetease" is sucrose. We have a "guideline" which the doctor will order eg. "sucrose guidelines" and its copied onto the MAR as a PRN "med." However, regardless if it's ordered or not most nurses just give it if it's needed and people rarely actually sign for it...I guess this isn't really best practice but that's how it goes here.

[Seattle_NICUnurse]

That sounds familiar to the facility I am in as well. I think it is safe to say that it is an area which could use some firmer boundaries. I find open sweetease at the HOB at hand off all the time and I just pull it and toss it away (and gringe/pass a bit of judgement).

It is also part of our admission bundle as PRN for pain, and our unit is currently changing culture to use it when needed depending on N-PASS scoring for cares or for procedures. I am guilty of not using it before for a quick heel stick since it is "out of the way" but I do see the benefit of it's use even for seemingly small interventions to keep a baby calm so it can do the tough job of neuro-development outside of the womb. Now, I grab a couple with my first med room visit and lock it up bedside for "just in case" stash. I find I will more likely unlock my bedside med drawer than go all the way to the Pyxis. I am a work in progress. :)

[Lady_Leijing, BSN]

I have to say I think it's a good idea, it reinforces the idea that Sweetease is a med (of sorts) and should be used only when appropriate. My current unit keeps stashes of it on the supply carts and it is WAY overused, IMO -- not for procedure-related pain relief, just to make babies be quiet quickly. Grinds my gears.

This!! 1000 times THIS!! It drives me batty when other nurses give MY patients sucrose because the baby was fussy. I had one night (that I know of) where my NAS scores were undermined because I thought the kid was sleeping between feedings, and they weren't. I never heard the kid cry while I was taking care of my one down the hall because every time kiddo whimpered, someone gave em sucrose. The only reason I figured it out was they kept leaving the opened packs at the bedside, and I kept throwing the ones I found away. No one ever told me that they gave my patient sucrose.

[winterblue]

I have to say I think it's a good idea, it reinforces the idea that Sweetease is a med (of sorts) and should be used only when appropriate. My current unit keeps stashes of it on the supply carts and it is WAY overused, IMO -- not for procedure-related pain relief, just to make babies be quiet quickly. Grinds my gears.

Thanks for this! I admit I was annoyed by our policy at first but now it really does make sense, esp since it DOES get overused. It's not that difficult to get it from pyxis when needed for certain procedures, and we can lock it in bedside cart. My petpeeve is finding out previous shift has been using sweetease drops on mom's nipples to help baby latch

[redheadrn99]

I apologize...this post was in error and I seem to be having a difficult time making it permanently disappear...unlike my paycheck..lol.