Enteral Administration

Small cylindrical gelatin containers that hold dry powder or liquid medicinal agents.

provide a gradual but continuous release of a drug because the granules within the capsules dissolve at different rates

Flat disks containing a medicinal agent in a suitably flavored base; are held in the mouth to dissolve slowly, thus releasing the therapeutic ingredients.

dried, powdered drugs that have been compressed into small disks.

clear liquids made up of drugs dissolved in alcohol and water; used primarily when the drug will not dissolve in water alone.

dispersions of small droplets of water in oil or oil in water; used to mask bitter tastes or provide better solubility to certain drugs.

liquid dose forms that contain solid, insoluble drug particles dispersed in a liquid base; should be shaken well before administration to ensure thorough mixing of the particles.

Major advantages of administration via the rectal route:

For patients who cannot swallow or who have had oral surgery, the                 method may be used.

The primary purpose of the NG method is to

Major disadvantage of the oral route is

The oral route should not be used in the following situations:

With the ENTERAL route, drugs are administered directly into the GI tract by the following methods:

The             route is safe, most convenient, and relatively economical, and dose forms are readily available for most medications

NG tubes should be flushed with at least              mL of water before and after medication administration

The reason for flushing NG tubes with 30mL of water, before and after administration is to:

When more than one medication is to be administered at about the same time, how much water should you flush with between each medication?

whenever possible, a              form of a drug should be used for NG administration

If it is necessary to use a crushed tablet, how much water should you dissolve it in for NG tube administration?

How long after administration of medication should you evaluate for effectiveness and document?

Medications given orally are absorbed:

When giving an intermittent enteral feeding, the residual aspirate in an adult is 150 mL. the nurse should:

Less than                 mL of residual, feeding can be resumed

When giving oral medications, the nurse should first:

The nurse is to administer several medications to the patient via an NG tube. The nurse's first action is to: