2015 Intravenous Medications: A Handbook for Nurses and Health Professionals

by Betty L. Gahart RN, Adrienne R. Nazareno PharmD

Overview

The #1 IV drug handbook for more than 40 years, Intravenous Medications: A Handbook for Nurses and Health Professionals is trusted for its accuracy and comprehensive coverage. Whether you prefer the portable print version or one of the convenient electronic formats, each drug monograph — including those for new IV drugs recently approved by the FDA — includes the drug’s generic name, common trade name(s), drug category, pH, dosages and dose adjustments, dilution, incompatibilities, rate of administration, actions, indications and uses, contraindications, precautions, drug/lab interactions, side effects, and antidote — all alphabetically organized to help you find drug information quickly and easily.

• UNIQUE! Published annually to ensure that you have essential information on the most recently approved IV drugs, as well as updated information on existing drugs.
• UNIQUE! Thorough coverage of more than 350 IV drugs provides far more information than any other comparable handbook.
• Updated IV drug dilution and dosage charts within monographs provide quick access to essential information.
• Black Box Warnings, screening, and highlighting make locating key information fast and easy.
• Age-specific dosage variances are highlighted for geriatric, pediatric, infant, and neonatal patients. 
• IV drugs are listed alphabetically by generic name for quick clinical reference.
• Redesigned printed thumb tabs help you find information faster.
• UNIQUE! Time-tested page layout keep all dosage information for each drug on either a single page or a two-page spread to prevent hand contamination by having to turn a page.
• Consistent, easy-to-use format provides all the essential clinical information you need on IV drug administration.

• NEW! Eleven new drug monographs provide you with current, clinically relevant drug information for new IV drugs recently approved by the FDA.
•  NEW! Updated drug monographs reflect the latest changes in IV drug therapy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780323084758
Publisher:	Elsevier Health Sciences
Publication date:	07/14/2014
Pages:	1344
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.50(d)

Table of Contents

General Dilution Charts (inside front cover and facing page)
How to Use This Book
Evolve Website Information
Format and Content of Intravenous Medications
Key to Abbreviations
Important IV Therapy Facts
Resources
IV Drugs
Appendixes:

A. Recommendations for the Safe Use and Handling of Cytotoxic Drugs
B. FDA Pregnancy Categories
C. Information for Patients Receiving Immunosuppressive Agents
D. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events
E. Recently Approved Drugs

Index
Solution Compatibility Chart (last page and inside back cover of print version)

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Safely administer more than 350 intravenous drugs with this go-to resource

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Lawrence P Carey, BS, PharmD (Temple University School of Pharmacy)
Description: This is a large annual compendium on intravenous medications and how to administer them safely. The book is arranged in alphabetical order to make finding a drug rather easy. A good number of the drugs also have pertinent charts — i.e., dosing in renal function, as well as particular regimens of note (i.e., nausea/vomiting regimens in chemotherapy).
Purpose: The purpose is to provide complete, accurate, and current information in a clear, concise, and accessible tool for healthcare professionals who administer IV medications.
Audience: The intended audience includes nurses in a variety of settings, such as nursing stations, critical care units, and home care, as well as armed services medical personnel and students. The book would be useful for all healthcare professionals who either prepare or administer IV medications. Students and trainees can also benefit, as the information is concise and well formatted. The authors (one nurse and one pharmacist) practice in a hospital environment.
Features: The book covers hundreds of intravenous drugs and for each explains its usual dose, dose adjustment, dilution questions, and compatibilities. It also reviews how the drug works, what it is used for, and any precautions, warnings, side effects, or drug interactions to watch for. This format is both informative and useful, although a bit dry (as these compendiums tend to be — that is not a fault of the authors). The book's best feature is its comprehensive information. It includes several appendixes and charts that are useful, such as a solution compatibility chart in the back of the book for a quick glance. While it is not very "artsy," it is certainly useful. I found the one disadvantage to be the size, only because I like to think of handbooks as pocket-sized. This book is not, but it does offer an online version so you can access the information easily.
Assessment: This is much more comprehensive than other books I have seen for a quick review and/or for more than just compatibility information. Other IV books such as Handbook on Injectable Drugs, 18th Edition (ASHP, 2015) or King Guide to Parenteral Admixtures (King Guide Publications) focus solely on the compatibility issues (and very comprehensively, I might add), but may lack other features such as an overall drug monograph, and they are written primarily for pharmacists. This book contains both features, which is very helpful, and is written for a variety of practitioners. As new drugs are constantly coming on the market, updates are essential; for example, 11 new drugs have been added to this edition.

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