1. The Pharmacy Technician
Parenteral Chapter 8
The Pharmacy Technician

2. Parenterals situated or occurring outside the intestine
parenteral drug administration by intravenous, intramuscular, or subcutaneous injection

3. 2 general types of packaging
Large volume parenteral (LVP) solutions
Typically bags or bottles containing large volume of IV solutions
Uses: electrolye balance, nutrition, fluid balance
Small volume parenteral (SVP) solutions
Generally contained in ampules, pigglyback bags, prefilled syringes and vials.
Can be added by LVP solution or injected directly into the patient

4. Inspections Inspect after compounding Visually inspect before use
Visual inspections are generally performed against a brightly lit white background

5. Characteristics Pg. 172-173 Solutions for injection but be sterile
Solutions must be free of all visual particulate material
All parenteral solutions must be pyrogen-free
The solution must be stable for its intended use
The pH of an intravenous solution should not vary significantly from the physiological pH, about 7.4
IV solutions should be formulated to have an osmotic pressure similar to that of blood

6. Osmotic pressure-a characteristic of a solution determined by the number of dissolved particles in it
Isotonic-when a solution had an osmolarity equivalent to blood
Hypertonic-when a solution has a greater osmolarity than that of blood
Hypotonic-when a solution has a lesser osmolarity than that of blood

7. Parenteral Routes Intravenous Intramuscular Intradermal Subcutaneous
Epidural
Intrathecal
Intranasal
Inhalation
opthalmic

8. Administration Devices
Administration set
Heparin lock
Piggyback
Positive Pressure Infusion Devices
Combination controllers & pumps
Peristaltic Pumps
Cassette Pumps
Syringe Pumps
Elastomeric Reserviors

9. Syringes & Needles Basic Parts of Syringe Basic Parts of a Needle
Barrel, plunger & tip
Syringes come in sizes ranging from 1 to 60 m
Basic Parts of a Needle
Bug, shaft & bevel
Lumen-hollow bore of the need shaft
Needles are classified by length & gauge

12. Filters
Used to remove particulate materials or microorganisms from solutions
Depth filters-filter that can filter solutions being drawn into or expelled from a syringe, but not both ways in the same procedure
Membrane filters-a filter that filters solution as the solution is expelled from the syringe
Final filters-filter that filters solution immediately before it enters a patient’s vein

13. Laminar Flow Hoods, Biological Safety Cabinets, Clean Rooms
Establishes and maintains an ultra clean work area
Used to prevent contamination
Biological Safety Cabinets
Take air into the cabinet through te work surface and recycle it through a HEPA filter
Clean Rooms
House laminar flow hoods and biological safety cabinets
Regulations are established to maintain class 100 environment

14. Aseptic Techniques
Aseptic techniques maintain the sterility of all sterile items and are used in preparing admixtures.
Clothing & barriers
Collect supplies
Wash hands
Position supplies in hood
Sterilize puncture surfaces
**Sterile supplies often have instructions for use as well
as expiration dates. Always follow such instructions
along with any facility or manufacture instructions.

15. **potential for coring vials
Vials & Ampules
2 types of parenteral vials
Vials Containing Solution
Vials Containing Lypholized Powder
Ampules-sealed glass containers with an elongated neck with a colored stripe
**potential for coring vials

16. Special Solutions
Parenteral nutrition solutions are complex admixtures compose of dextrose, fat, protein, electrolytes, vitamins and trace elements used to meet patient nutritional needs.
Total parenteral nutrition solutions (TPN)
Dialysis solutions
Irrigation solutions
Surgical & urological