nursing/medication type questions
 

I was wondering if anyone knew how long an IV should be left in? For example if someone is on a antibiotic drip, if it is dry should it be removed right away or can it be left on? Also if someone is on a oxygen/Inubulizer I believe is what its called treatment, how long should that be left on? Should it be left on just for as long as the medication lasts or should the oxygen be left on longer? Thanks.

I'm not a nurse, but an IV bag should never run empty. IV antibiotic is a smaller bag that is placed in addition to the main IV bag. (the iv line should be heplocked when not in use)

Oxygen is usually constant if prescribed. A nebulizer is something that is administered by an oxygen therapist and should be monitored, I believe.

There are many nurses here, so I'm sure they can give you more information.

An IV catheter ( @ insertion site) can be left in place for 72 hours. The tubing should be disconnected once the drip is done. I won't cause any harm if not disconnected however.

Not sure about the other question.

If it is just an ABX drip, in the hospital we usually remove the IV from the lock/connection and flush the lock with sterile normal saline (or a Heparin flush) so that a clot doesn't form there. Our respiratory therapist take care of the treatments and they usually return, remove the mask and put the patient back on oxygen-either regular mask or nasal canula.

There really isn't a simple answer to your question. It all depends on what was going on before the drip was hung. If the person has a running IV and an antibiotic or other medication is "piggy backed" in, then when that bag is dry the main IV fluid takes over and continues infusing. If there was no mainline IV but just a hep-lock, then the bag is removed and the lock flushed. Will it hurt the patient to have an empty bag hanging there for awhile? No. I think people are afraid that they are going to get air from the empty bag and tubing in to the circulatory system, but that doesn't happen because the blood pressure of the person keeps the air from being "sucked in" so to speak.

Same thing with the respiratory treatment. If the patient is continuing to get oxygen after the treatment it's not going to hurt them. Also, sometimes it sounds like the medication is all gone but there may still be some aersolized in the nebulizer. In other words, just because the bubbling sound stopped doesn't mean all the medication has been given. Sometimes the mask needs to be given a bit of a shake to get the medication to fall back down in to the area of the nebulizer where it can be mixed with the flow so it can be delivered.

Thanks everyone.