Intravenous Components

Whether for a single dose or a long-running medication, patients receiving intravenous fluids as part of their medical treatment are exposed to the components that are a necessary aspect of intravenous medications. The supporting components of intravenous drugs ensure a patient's health is protected and the medicine is administered safely.

Sterilizing Preparations

• Before receiving any intravenous (IV) medication, it is essential that a patient's injection site is prepped. A qualified medical professional first wipes down the injection site with a sterile alcohol swab, iodine or betadine to disinfect the skin. Once the sterilizing solution is dry, an IV is set by puncturing a with a needle and leaving a port connected to the needle where medications can be affixed. The IV set-up should be secured with medical tape so the needle does not move and cause the patient pain or harm the vein.

Intravenous Tubing

• Every IV bag that is administered to a patient must be done so with the help of intravenous tubing. There are multiple types of tubing sets that contain different filters within the line. For example, the chemotherapy medication, Etoposide, requires a specific type of tubing set with a designated filter for high concentrations of this medication. To use tubing sets, the IV bag must first be spiked, or have the entry port taken off. The spiked end of the tubing set is then inserted into the IV bag. Once the tubing locks are released, the solution can flow through the line at the desired speed. Often times, the tubing is primed with a base fluid such as sodium chloride 0.9 percent or dextrose 5 percent to flush the IV site and to ensure there are no bubbles in the line that could run into a patient's vein.

IV Adminstration Components

• There are particular safety components that those who administer IVs to patients need to have at their disposal. First, it is essential to wear rubber gloves when giving a patient intravenous medications for protection. If possible, it is best to wear sterile rubber gloves, which come individually packaged. When handling chemotherapy or other cytotoxic substances, it is best to wear chemo-rated gloves, which are proven to block any potential absorption of the medication through the gloves in the event of a drip or other medication exposure. You will also want to have sterile gauze to wipe up any blood from the injection and to wrap around the site where the needle is penetrating the skin. Gauze can be affixed with medical tape.

Medication Requirements

• Many intravenous medications have special directions or requirements for administration. The most common include light-protect drugs that are covered in an amber bag when being given to the patient, medications, such as Amiodarone, that are given through a central line or medications that need to be put into a non-PVC bag. Standard IV solution bags are made out of PVC. Sometimes, the composition of a medication sticks to PVC so, it is necessary to put it into a non-PVC or excel bag for administration to ensure the medication mixes with the base solution within the IV bag.