IV Dexametaone Administered Orally

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Sarah Gallup
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Joined: 05/08/2015 - 14:37
IV Dexametaone Administered Orally

We recently had an event at one of our physician offices in which they wanted a patient to receive IV dexamethasone orally. The staff member inadvertently administered it IM. I know EDs and Urgent Cares routinely use the IV product orally due to volume concerns. Does anyone use the IV formulation orally in the office setting and if yes, what safety steps do you have in place to avoid wrong route administration errors? We are also talking about using the Intensol product but there are concerns as it has alcohol in it and the fact that it is supposed to dispensed in the original container with the supplied syringe. Does anyone draw up this formulation into standard dose, prefilled syringes (e.g. 5 mg/5 mL syringes) that staff then use to administer? Thank you!