Tag: Nursing care

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), standard IV tubing for continuous infusions can be changed as infrequently as every 96 hours to reduce bloodstream infections. Determining how often to change IV tubing is a crucial aspect of safe infusion therapy and infection control.

The FDA receives over 100,000 reports of medication errors annually, highlighting a serious patient safety issue. Understanding what are the six rights of medication is a fundamental strategy for healthcare providers and caregivers to prevent these errors and protect patient well-being. This critical framework is designed to minimize risk at every step of medication administration.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) classifies oxytocin as one of the most hazardous medications used in hospitals, highlighting the critical importance of close monitoring by nurses. Understanding what should nurses monitor in patients receiving oxytocin is essential for patient safety, especially during labor induction or augmentation.

Misoprostol, a synthetic prostaglandin, has multiple applications in medicine, ranging from preventing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-induced ulcers to obstetrical use for cervical ripening and labor induction. As a result, understanding what are nursing considerations for misoprostol is crucial for ensuring patient safety across various clinical settings. This involves thorough patient assessment, awareness of contraindications, monitoring for adverse effects, and comprehensive patient education.

Over 50% of women in some countries are administered oxytocin during labor for induction or augmentation. For a client receiving an oxytocin infusion, the nurse must be especially alert for the most common and dangerous complication: uterine hyperstimulation. This condition can jeopardize the health of both mother and baby and requires immediate nursing intervention.

While extravasation of vesicant chemotherapy is a rare but significant complication that can cause severe tissue damage, preventing it is paramount in oncology care. Identifying **which is the most effective method of administering a chemotherapeutic agent that is a vesicant** is a critical aspect of patient safety and successful treatment delivery.

Extravasation, the leakage of a vesicant drug into surrounding tissue, can cause severe and irreversible local injuries. For this reason, when administering a vesicant drug by short-term infusion through a peripheral vein, strict safety protocols including frequent blood return verification are essential to mitigate risk.

With the rise of methicillin-resistant *Staphylococcus aureus* (MRSA), vancomycin has become an indispensable antibiotic, necessitating specific **nursing considerations for vancomycin** to ensure safe and effective therapy. As a crucial glycopeptide antibiotic, its administration requires careful monitoring and specific interventions to mitigate risks of serious adverse effects like nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity.

PRN, from the Latin *pro re nata*, means 'as the circumstance arises' or 'as needed'. While regularly scheduled medications follow a fixed timetable, PRN medication protocols provide flexibility for treating intermittent or sudden-onset symptoms like pain, nausea, or anxiety. A well-structured PRN medication protocol is a cornerstone of effective symptom management in clinical and long-term care settings.

A 2014 meta-analysis found that while nasal bridles are more effective at preventing feeding tube dislodgement than adhesive tape alone, they are also associated with a higher rate of skin complications. Navigating **what are the side effects of nasal bridle?** is essential for patients, caregivers, and clinicians to ensure safe and effective enteral nutrition.