When giving Phenergan through an IV push, how do I know how long to give it for?

[Samian Q]

Here's my thought process on this:

Let's say my TA were to say, "You're giving 12.5 mg phenergan to the mannequin".

The first thing I'd do is look at the vial and see the concentration of phenergan in that vial. So let's say it's 25 mg/mL.

Obviously, the calculation will tell me I'll need to withdraw 0.5 mL of phenergan into a syringe.

I think that's the easy part. But I'm not sure how to find out at what rate to give the phenergan at when I stick the syringe into the port.

What I tried to do is I went to the drug book (I have "Davis's Drug Guide for Nurses") and looked in the Route/Dosage section for promethazine, and there's various types (Antihistamine, Sedation, Antiemetic). I'm not sure which one to pick?

Also, my other big question is how long to keep pushing that 0.5 mL of phenergan for.

For instance, I'll pick what it says for the IV section for Antihistamine: "25 mg; may repeat in 2 hr"

I don't know how long to inject it for!

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

Did you look in the section titled "Administration"? That's usually where you'll find guideline for giving the drug, including how much/how quickly you can push it at one time.

[Samian Q]

ooh, I think I found it!

It says "Administer each 25 mg slowly, over at least 10-15 min (maximum rate = 25 mg/min)". Since I'm giving 12.5 mg (or half a mL), this means I'd be administering this drug for 5 - 7.5 minutes, yes?

But since I won't have that much time during the skills test to inject just phenergan I'll probably let my TA know ...

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

Yes, you're correct. But also read about diluting the med. Phenergan is extremely damaging to the veins (you'll find plenty of examples online to people who have lost fingers and hands because phenergan was infused too quickly, too concentrated. It should be diluted in at least 10mLs of NS before you give it.

[Samian Q]

Very interesting! I did not know that. THANKS! :)

I'll be sure to ask about it to my TA, too

[RaineyRN]

Dilute well and push sloooooowwwllllyyyyy.... :-) and read the warnings... you'll see them tested on somewhere down the road...

http://www.drugs.com/pro/phenergan-injection.html#i4i_dosage_admin_id_inv-e187a6ab-e27d-4366-9513-9b35805b171c