Administering Medication

FIGURE 19-1. Ratient-oontrolled analgesia allows the dient to self-administer medication, as necessary, to control pain. 

Compatibility of medications with an enteral nutrition (EN) formula and, conversely, an enteral nutrition (EN) formula with administered medications is of concern when administering medications through feeding tubes. 

Within the medical community it has been acknowledged that elderly patients often respond to drug therapy differently from their younger counterparts. Aside from alteration of various pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes, elderly patients tend to suffer from a number of chronic conditions and, thus, have more complex dosage regimens. Additionally, a variety of physical limitations prevalent among the elderly may hinder their ability to self-administer medication. 

Vision. Many people experience visual decline as they age (Fig. 3) [135]. Impaired vision may also hinder one s ability to self-administer medication. Listed in Table 10 are some of the effects that are associated with impaired vision in the elderly. Some of the processes of self-administration that are affected by impaired vision are as follows (a) the ability to accurately measure liquids (b) the ability to correctly read instructions and (c) the ability to differentiate between various types of medications (both the labeling of these drugs and their physical characteristics) [137,151-153],... 

Modern Delivery Strategies Physiological Considerations for Orally Administered Medications... 

Medicated IV drips are solutions that have potent medications added. When administered, these infusions require extreme care and meticulous observation so that exactly the prescribed amount of medication in solution is administered to the patient. Generally, infusion pump or a controlled volume chamber and a microdrip set are used to administer medicated IV drips. 

SEe Tiemo 2002 or other medical references for details on administering medications and/or vaccines... 

Therapy should include replacement of fluids and electrolytes and antibiotics such as tetracycline, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, and erythromycin See Tiemo 2002 or other medical references for details on administering medications... 

Therefore, care must be taken when administering medication to patients with kidney disease. If the kidneys are slow to remove medication, this can create a backlog in the medication elimination system. The liver may try to compensate by slowing its chemical processing efforts. As a result, levels of the active medication can rise extremely high despite using doses that are typically safe in otherwise healthy patients. Often, the doses of medications should be considerably lower in patients with poorly functioning kidneys. 

Flavonoids are 15-carbon polyphenols produced by all vascular plants. Well over 4000 distinct flavonoids have now been identified, a limited number of which display therapeutic activity. These substances are generally degraded if taken orally, and are administered medically via the intravenous route. This is probably just as well (the average Western daily diet contains approximately 1 g of flavonoids). A number of flavonoids appear to display anti-viral activity and, hence, are of pharmaceutical interest (Figure 1.12). 

East N, Dube J, Perreault EL. Postpartum pain relief a randomized comparison of self-administered medication and standard administration. J Obstet Gynaecol Can2007 29(12) 975-81. 

Physicians, dentists, podiatrists, and veterinarians—and, in some states, specialized pharmacists, nurses, physician s assistants, and optometrists—are granted authority to prescribe dangerous drugs (those bearing the federal legend statement, "Rx Only") on the basis of their training in diagnosis and treatment (see Who May Prescribe ). Pharmacists are authorized to dispense prescriptions pursuant to a prescriber s order provided that the medication order is appropriate and rational for the patient. Nurses are authorized to administer medications to patients subject to a prescriber s order (Table 65-2). 

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