Following pretreatment assessment the RN may administer the chemotherapy. As advances in chemotherapy occur, the routes of administration still evolve. The option of drug route depends on the therapeutic intent.
Peripheral and central line is probably the most popular techniques to administer chemotherapy. In the past 2 years, more oral cytotoxic agents have been located; oral administration causes it to be more convenient for patients to get treatment both at home and is more affordable but presents different challenges for that clinician.
Alternative ways of drug delivery to specific sites in the body using devices or catheters have become more popular in clinical practice. This article discusses the techniques of drug delivery, traditional and alternative ways, and exercise implications for nurses.
A multitude of oral agents are actually available. Capecitabine, a current discovery, is definitely an oral prodrug of 5-fluorouracil. A pro-drug is really a chemical precursor of the active agent that must be changed into an energetic agent being effective. The conversion is accomplished by one or more enzymes found in the liver, tumor sites, or any other tissues. Prodrugs are viewed to supply more selective and intensive therapy for that target tumor.
Most oral cytotoxic agents are self-administered by the patient in your own home, therefore the practice implications for that nurse involve patient education, monitoring for compliance, drug accounting, and documentation. Many of these functions involve intervention and therefore are often accomplished by timely and skillful telephone triage.
Few chemotherapeutic agents receive with such routes. A few examples are leuprolide, leucovorin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and many vaccines in immunotherapy. The nurse should monitor the platelet count because of the possibility of bleeding, rotate injection sites to prevent further trauma, assess for infection, and be sure there's enough muscle tissue and tissue for absorption. Education is essential so that the individual follows these precautions.
Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Articleinput.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.
Note: This article was sent to us by: Kyle Jordan at 07262011
1. Cancer cell characteristics and how chemotherapy fights them
All articles are property of their respective authors. Please read our Privacy Policy!
© 2009 ArticleInput.com.
Partners: Damenmode