Prevacid and G.Tubes

How do you get the Prevacid granules to go down the G.Tube without clogging the damn thing up?
Thank you.
Generally our Dr orders are to first put the granules in a small amount of sodium bicarb. Use a 60 cc syringe and flush well after.

Thank you. G Tubes are not so bad, but those darn dobhoffs are down right terrifying to me. I am going to bring this post to my hospital pharmasist and discuss it with him. This is a real problem where I work. Thank you thank you thank you

As our hospital doesn't have a specific policy, I use a little apple juice to dissolve the granules in and found that it works well.

More helpful tips:You may mix the granules in some fruit or vegetable juice and give it immediately. Juices you may use include apple, cranberry, grape, orange, pineapple, prune, tomato, and V-8 vegetable juice. Do not crush the granules. This was from the drug information page on the Mayo Clinic web site. It was refering to PO route, however it could be given via G-tube this way too although I don't think I'd use the veggie juices as a choice for giving via G-tube.

Where was this post when I was new and clogged up a darn g-tube with those stupid granules? That was a scary hour of every nurse (and the unit secretary who was in RN school) working on the tube. Fortunately, the unit secretary gor it unclogged (of course none of us "Saw" this occur).

We're spoiled - pharmacy prepares it for us so that it's liquid when it gets to us (I think he did mention something about sodium bicarb. or something too...).

When Prilosec (same manuf.) came out they sent out a poster that said to mix it in apple juice to put down tubes.(It is mixed with sodium bicarb to disolve, then diluted with sterile water to the sesired conc.)We keep the 3 compound pharmasists in my town refering our home care kids to them to have their meds made into liquids.

flush, flush, flush, flush, flush..........and a good dose of common sense...........maybe split the granules up into equal portions.......and give 1/2 seperately with flush, flush, flush, flush, flush......with warm water...........but no stones, please.........this only learned from long long experience.........(experience=the wrong way to do it)

I find if I hold the syringe (60 cc) sideways it disperses the granules more slowly and evenly rather than going into the tube in one big clump. A GI doc told me(after I asked hi why they don't just make it in luquid form) "that can't clog up NG tubes, that's why they made it that way!" I asked him the last time he administered medications via an NG or G tube. Answer: Dead Silence until he said "have a nice day now!" and quickly left the unit.

I know from working in a hospital pharmacy putting my self thru nursing school that Sod Bicarb works best to dissolve the granules. We use it at the hospital I work in now as a RN too.

we also use sodium bicarb where I work.....and yes we flush flush flush too!sodium bicarb also works for taking the coating right off a losec tab....no granules in that pill but the coating could easily clog a g-tubeahhhhhh the wonderful g-tube dilemmas we face......at least the confused elderly man I had with a g-tube had the courtesy to pull it out on nightshift so that giving him meds on dayshift wasnt gonna happen!hehe cheers

but something that works for me when I am crushing pills and putting them down a g-tube is: 1.) crush the pills, 2.) dilute in water for 15-30 min. 3.) stir and pour into another cup that I have placed a 4x4 over the top.......to act as a strainer. It keeps all the pill coating residue out. I have had good luck with this, no dobhoff or g-tubes plugging. then i always flush the tube with water.