ISMP high-alert medication categories and the double-check and safety protocols nurses use to administer them.
30 cards · basic cards · AI-written, checked twice. Edit anything.
- What organization publishes the official U.S. list of high-alert medications?
- The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)
- High-alert medications are not necessarily involved in ____ than other drugs, but errors with them are more likely to cause serious harm.
- more errors
- What is the defining feature of a high-alert medication?
- It carries a heightened risk of causing significant patient harm if used in error
- Which high-alert drug class includes heparin and warfarin?
- Anticoagulants (antithrombotic agents)
- Why is insulin classified as a high-alert medication?
- Dosing errors or mix-ups between insulin types can cause severe, rapid hypoglycemia
- Why are neuromuscular blocking agents classified as high-alert?
- They cause respiratory paralysis and can be fatal without ventilatory support
- What must be in place before giving a neuromuscular blocking agent?
- A secured airway with ventilatory support
- Where should concentrated potassium chloride vials generally not be stored?
- In patient care unit floor stock
- What is an independent double-check?
- A second qualified clinician separately verifies the drug, dose, and pump settings before administration
- During an independent double-check, should the second nurse see the first nurse's calculation before checking?
- No, the second nurse should calculate independently first
- Name the three things typically verified during an independent double-check of an IV opioid infusion.
- The drug, the concentration/dose, and the pump rate/programming
- What lab value monitors the therapeutic effect of unfractionated heparin?
- aPTT (activated partial thromboplastin time)
- What lab value monitors warfarin therapy?
- INR (international normalized ratio)
- What is the antidote for heparin overdose?
- Protamine sulfate
- What is the antidote for warfarin overdose?
- Vitamin K (phytonadione)