Preparing Medication from Ampule and Vial

• Syringe


  Cylindrical barrel with a tip designed to fit the hub of a hypodermic needle and a close-fitting plunger

  
• Syringes


  • Single use, disposable, and classified as Luer-Lok or non-Luer-Lok

  
• Luer-Lok syringes


  Needles are twisted onto the tip and lock themselves in place, preventing inadvertent removal

  
• Non-Luer-Lok syringes


  Needles slip onto the tip

  
• Tuberculin syringe

  • Calibrated in sixteenths of a minim and hundredths of a milliliter, capacity of 1 mL, used for small amounts of medications

  
• Insulin syringe


  • Hold 0.3 mL to 1 mL, low-dose insulin syringes (30 units per 0.3 mL or 50 units per 0.5 mL), U-100 designed for U-100 insulin
• Syringes


  • Variety of sizes from 0.5 to 60 mL, unusual to use larger than 5 mL for injection, 1-3 mL syringe usually adequate for subcutaneous or IM injection, larger volumes for IV medications and wound/drainage tube irrigation

  
• Needle


  Has three parts: hub, shaft, and bevel (slanted tip)

  
• Needles


  • Vary in length from 1/4 to 3 inches, choose length based on patient size/weight and injection site, as gauge gets smaller diameter gets larger

  
• Ampule


  Glass container usually designed to hold a single dose of a drug, has a constricted neck for easy opening
• Accessing medication in an ampule

  Break at constricted neck, use plastic ampule opener or clean neck with alcohol and snap off top, aspirate fluid into syringe using filter needle/straw
• Vial


  Small glass bottle with sealed rubber cap, comes in single-use and multi-dose sizes, requires piercing with needle to access medication
• Accessing medication in a vial

  Inject air into vial before withdrawing medication, single-use vials only used once, multi-dose vials require sterile needle/syringe

  
• Reconstitution


  Adding diluent (sterile water or saline) to powdered medication in a vial to prepare for administration
• Parenteral administration of medications is the administration of medications by injection into body tissues, an invasive procedure performed using aseptic techniques
• A risk of infection occurs after a needle pierces the skin
• Preventing infection during an injection

  Draw up medication quickly, avoid letting needle touch contaminated surfaces, avoid touching syringe plunger or barrel, prepare skin with soap and water if soiled then clean with antiseptic swab
• vials come in different sizes, from single-use vials to multiple-dose vials.
• Vials usually have a metal or plastic cap that protects the rubber seal

  and must be removed to access the medication.
• To access the medication in a vial, the vial must be pierced with a needle.
• Air must be injected into a vial before the medication can be withdrawn.
• A single-use vial contains only one dose of medication and should only be used once. In contrast, a multidose vial is a bottle of liquid medication that contains more than one dose, such as insulin or vaccination vials. If multidose vials must be used, both the needle or cannula and syringe used to access the vial must be sterile.
• Some drugs (e.g., penicillin) may be dispensed as powders in vials.
• A liquid (diluent) must be added to a powdered medication before it can be injected.
• The technique of adding a diluent to a powdered drug to prepare it for administration is called reconstitution.
• Commonly used diluents are sterile water or sterile normal saline.
• For multidose vials, it is important to remember that when powdered drugs have been reconstituted, the date and time should be written on the label of the vial.
• To prevent contaminating the solution, draw up medication quickly. Do not allow ampules to stand open
• To prevent needle contamination, avoid letting a needle touch contaminated surfaces
• To prevent syringe contamination, avoid touching length of plunger or inner part of barrel. Keep tip of

  syringe covered with cap or needle.
• To prepare skin, wash with soap and water if soiled with dirt, drainage, or feces, and dry. Use friction and a circular motion while cleaning with an antiseptic swab. Swab from center of site and move outward in a 5-cm (2-inch) radius
• Draw up medication quickly to avoid contaminating solutions. Do not allow ampules to stand open.