What is a reconstituted drug?

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Triage, Cardiac ICU.
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a reconstituted drug is a drug that was in powder form in vile and has been mixed with ns(normal saline) or bsw(bacteriostatic water) (usually) so that it can be injected iv or im.

for example, ampicillin is usually sent to the nurses in powdered form (if you have a pharmacy that mixes drugs for the nurses) because ampicillin has a short self life in liquid form (about 8 hours), therefore the nurse has to reconstitute the medication for injection.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

(from page 1643, taber's cyclopedic medical dictionary, 18th edition, published in 1997 by f.a. davis company)

reconstitution
- the return of a substance previously altered for preservation and storage to its approximate original state. . .

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