What is NS NOT compatible with?

I was pondering what normal saline is not compatible with. Thanks.

consult your staff pharmacist. they are a great resource. compatibilities are part of their speciality. use your resources as you are the last line of defense. there are no "emergency" meds that cannot be mixed with NS. take your time and make the call. pharmacists love to talk meds.

Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
Uh oh! :o If NaHCO3 is incompatible with NS, then I've been flushing

behind it with the wrong stuff!

The only two that I am aware of have already been mentioned in

previous posts.

It's OK to flush behind it with NS. What some of us are saying is that it's not necessarily best practice to mix it with NS- not that it's incompatible.

Specializes in ER, Medsurg, LTAC.

Valium IV turns a beautiful white color when mixed with NS. I tried to dilute it ala morphine before taking it to the bedside. I was taught to give it at the hub of the IV (with a cap or vicra attached of course) NOT through a line or tubing and slowly pushed, then flush with NS.

Are there any that we can't flush NS behind?

Quinupristin/dalfopristin (Synercid), a fairly new and very costly antibiotic used to treat Vancomycin resistant infections is not compatible with normal saline. Manufacturer states it must go in D5W(see www.synercid.com).

Timothy McKibben,

Pharmacy Technician,

Palomar Pomerado Health

we always give valium in 10 ml of ns for seizures. had never seen cristals

I think Dilantin is also not compatible with NS

Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.
I think Dilantin is also not compatible with NS

I reconstitute Cerebyx (the IV form of Dilantin) with NS all the time. When I was a new nurse, the hospital pharmacist told me to do it this way.

Well I was told never to mix Dilantin with Normal Saline only with D5W. I think Cerebyx may be a different from of Dilantin(Phenytoin).

Quote

I reconstitute Cerebyx (the IV form of Dilantin) with NS all the time. When I was a new nurse, the hospital pharmacist told me to do it this way.

Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

Does anyone know why it says on the above link: "Dilantn should not be given through PICC lines"??? What happens if you give Dilantin through a PICC? Can you give it through other central lines?

I'm just curious where some of you are getting your information because I'm looking up all of these meds on the micromedex website and have only found a few of them to be true! BTW dilantin & D5W big mistake! I've been told it causes the veins to turn a shade of purple, but it eventually goes away.

Specializes in CTICU.
Amiodarone

I just took acls and they say to mix amio push 150mg with 7cc NS. however, the drip needs to be in D5W with a filter.

Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

D5W, phenytoin, and many drugs, including Valium, after a specific number of hours. Got this info from a Drug Book for Nurses.

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